OAKES   AMES 


A    MEMORIAL  VOLUME 


OAKES   AMES 


WITH  AN  ACCOUNT   OF  THE   DEDICATION 


OF  THE 


OAKES  AMES  MEMORIAL  HALL 

AT  NORTH   EASTON,  MASS. 
November  I?,  1881 


CAMBRIDGE 

$rmtcb  at  tfce  ft 

1884 


CONTENTS. 


PAGK 

MEMOIR  OF  OAKES  AMES 1 

DEDICATION  OF  THE  OAKES  AMES  MEMORIAL  HALL. 

Description  of  the  Building 

Rev.  William  L.  Chaffin's  Prayer 58 

Remarks  of  Mr.  A.  A.  Gilmore 59 

Remarks  of  Hon.  Oliver  Ames 59 

Response  of  Mr.  Lewjs  H.  Smith 59 

Reading  of  Letters  by  Hon.  Charles  W.  Slack 60 

Remarks  of  Governor  John  D.  Long 60 

Remarks  of  Hon.  George  S.  Boutwell 62 

Remarks  of  Rev.  E.  E.  Hale 64 

Remarks  of  Judge  Thomas  Russell        .         .         .        ...        .         .68 

Remarks  of  Hon.  Robert  R.  Bishop 71 

Remarks  of  Hon.  Charles  J.  Noyes 72 

Remarks  of  Rev.  C.  C.  Hussey 73 

Remarks  of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Blackwell      .         .        .        ...         .         .75 

Remarks  of  Colonel  Jonas  H.  French 77 

Remarks  of  Rev.  Mr.  Meredith 78 

TRIBUTES  TO  OAKES  AMES.    Extracts  from  Letters  received  from 

Secretary  James  G.  Elaine' 80 

Ex- Secretary  William  M.  Evarts 80 

Senator  Henry  L.  Dawes 80 

Ex-Governor  Alexander  H.  Bullock 81 

Ex-Governor  William  Claflin 81 

Ex-Governor  William  B.  Washburn 82 

Ex-Governor  William  Gaston 82 

Ex-Governor  Thomas  Talbot 82 

Ex-Governor  Alexander  H.  Rice 82 

Hon.  Artemas  Hale 83 

Hon.  Samuel  J.  Tilden  83 


iv  Contents. 

Wendell  Phillips,  Esq 83 

Hon.  Josiah  Quincy *  84 

Franklin  Haven,  Esq. 84 

Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder 84 

Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler 85 

Hon.  John  Sherman 86 

Hon.  William  P.  Frye .86 

Hon.  George  B.  Loring 86 

Ex-Governor  Edwin  D.  Morgan 86 

Colonel  Francis  H.  Peabody 87 

Isaac  H.  Bailey,  Esq 87 

Edward  Atkinson,  Esq 87 

Judge  John  A.  Campbell .        .87 

Hon.  Harvey  Jewell 88 

Hon.  J.  F.  Farnsworth 88 

Hon.  B.  W.  Harris 88 

Hon.  M.  P.  Kennard 88 

Governor  N.  G.  Ordway 88 

Hon.  Josiah  G.  Abbott 89 

B.  B.  Johnson,  Esq 89 

Hon.  John  E.  Sanford 89 

Hon.  Samuel  N.  Aldrich 90 

Sidney  Bartlett,  Esq. 90 

Hon.  Albert  Bowker 90 

Charles  Brewer,  Esq. 90 

William  Endicott,  Jr.,  Esq 91 

Thomas  Dana,  Esq 91 

Hon.  John  F.  Dillon 91 

Henry  Villard,  Esq 91 

Hon.  George  P.  Sanger 91 

Hon.  P.  Emory  Aldrich 92 

Hon.  John  B.  Alley 92 

Hon.  E.  S.  Tobey 92 

Sidney  Dillon,  Esq 93 

S.  Deane,  Esq .        .  93 

Hon.  S.  C.  Pomeroy 93 

Hon.  Hosea  M.  Knowlton 94 

Hon.  E.  C.  Monk 95 

John  C.  S.  Harrison,  Esq .  95 

Hon.  Alpheus  Harding 95 


Contents.  v 

Hon.  Charles  Allen         .        .        . 95 

William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Jr.,  Esq 96 

A.  S.  Wheeler,  Esq 96 

Delano  A.  Goddard,  Esq 96 

Robert  Draper,  Esq 96 

Hon.  Joseph  Davis 96 

George  Tritch,  Esq 96 

E.  W.  Willard,  Esq 97 

C.  B.  H.  Fessenden,  Esq 97 

Col.  Thomas  W.  Pierce 97 

Col.  Homer  B.  Sprague 97 

Rev.  L.  H.  Sheldon 97 

William  B.  Stevens,  Esq 97 

Col.  William  Borden 98 

John  T.  Terry,  Esq 98 

Rev.  W.  V.  Morrison 98 

Samuel  Little,  Esq 98 

Chief  Justice  Ludeling 98 

C.  E.  Vail,  Esq 98 

Samuel  Tucker  man,  Esq 99 

Hon.  Frank  Morey 99 

Hon.  Ginery  Twitchell 99 

Hon.  J.  B.  Grinnell 100 

William  S.  Eaton,  Esq. 102 

Aaron  S.  Reid,  Esq 103 

Gamaliel  Bradford,  Esq 103 

Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder 104 

Hon.  Effingham  H.  Nichols 105 

J.  W.  Balch,  Esq 107 

DEFENSE  OF  OAKES  AMES. 

His  Speech  in  Congress 109 

OAKES  AMES  AND  THE  CREDIT  MOBILIER. 

A  Letter  issued  during  the  Garfield  Presidential  Campaign  of  1880   .  127 

RESOLUTION  PASSED  BY  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  LEGISLATURE,  1883  .        .139 

LETTER  FROM  GENERAL  N.  P.  BANKS             140 


OAKES  AMES. 


OAKES  AMES,  the  eldest  son  of  Oliver  and  Susannah  Ames,  was 
born  in  Easton,  Massachusetts,  on  the  tenth  day  of  January,  1804. 
His  father  moved  from  Bridgewater  in  the  previous  year,  attracted 
by  the  abundance  of  water-power  for  manufacturing  uses  in  the  re- 
gion of  Easton,  which  formed  the  heads  of  the  Taunton  River.  There 
the  son  passed  his  boyhood  and  youth,  acquiring  a  district-school  educa- 
tion, and  assisting  his  father  in  the  workshop  and  on  the  farm.  About 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  enjoyed  the  more  liberal  advantages  of  a  few 
months'  instruction  at  Dighton  Academy  ;  and  after  that  he  became 
the  faithful  apprentice  of  his  father,  until  ho  was  afterwards  his  fore- 
man and  chief  reliance.  He  was  possessed  by  nature  of  a  large  and 
athletic  frame,  which  laborious  industry  developed  and  matured,  so 
that  when  he  reached  manhood  he  was  fully  prepared  to  engage  with 
vigor  in  the  pursuit  in  which  he  had  been  trained,  and  which  was  to 
be  the  engrossing  one  of  his  life. 

The  first  of  the  name,  William  Ames,  emigrated  from  Burton,  in 
Somersetshire,  England,  to  Braintree,  in  Massachusetts  Colony,  in 
1635.  His  only  son  was  John  Ames ;  his  fourth  son  was  Thomas 
Ames ;  his  eldest  son  was  Thomas  Ames ;  his  second  son  was  John 
Ames  ;  his  youngest  son  was  Oliver  Ames ;  and  his  eldest  son  was 
Oakes  Ames.  On  the  maternal  side,  he  was  fifth  in  the  line  of 
descent  from  Rev.  Urian  Oakes,  one  of  the  earliest  presidents  of 

Harvard  College,  from  whom  he  took  his  Christian  name.     Susannah 
l 


2  Memoir. 

Angler,  the  mother  of  Oakes  Ames,  was  a  descendant  of  the  famous 
Dr.  William  Ames,  the  Francker  Professor,  whose  daughter  Ruth, 
coming  to  Massachusetts  with  her  mother  and  brother  in  1637,  mar- 
ried Edmund  Angier,  of  Cambridge  ;  whose  son,  Rev.  Samuel  An- 
gier,  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  President  Urian  Oakes,  of  Har- 
vard University.  Their  grandson,  Oakes  Angier,  a  law  student  under 
the  elder  President  Adams,  became  the  father  of  Susannah  Angier, 
who  in  April,  1803,  became  the  wife  of  Oliver  Ames. 

The  repressing  influence  of  the  war  of  1812  on  his  father's  business 
—  which  was  the  manufacture  of  shovels —  was  not  without  its  effect 
on  the  mind  of  the  youth,  as  the  crushing  disasters  of  1837  also  left 
their  permanent  impress  on  his  mature  manhood.  The  observation 
of  the  former  helped  him  to  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  latter. 
He  enjoyed  the  paternal  confidence  from  the  beginning ;  and  on 
emerging  from  his  minority,  he  naturally  assumed  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  manufacturing  works,  and  his  course  of  life  thereafter  was 
established.  From  being  overseer  in  the  growing  works  he  gradually 
became  his  father's  main  dependence,  and  with  his  wife  he  continued 
to  live  in  the  same  house  with  his  parents  until  they  died. 

The  simple  and  undeviating  rules  in  the  establishment  were  indus- 
try and  integrity  ;  to  these  everything  was  made  obedient.  The  son 
Oakes  was  possessed  of  great  quickness  of  apprehension  in  all  things 
pertaining  to  the  business.  He  drove,  but  was  never  driven  by  it. 
He  developed  inventive  powers  of  a  high  order,  and  exhibited  supe- 
rior capacity  to  administer  affairs.  All  that  he  did  advanced  the  inter- 
ests of  the  establishment.  He  inspired  more  and  more  the  movement 
about  him.  He  answered  promptly  the  call  of  every  emergency. 
Having  reached  the  age  of  sixty-five,  the  father,  in  1844,  withdrew 
from  all  further  active  participation  in  the  business,  turning  it  over 
absolutely  to  his  sons  Oakes  and  Oliver,  from  which  date  the  firm 
bore  the  name  of  Oliver  Ames  and  Sons.  Five  years  later  followed 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  and  two  years  after  a  similar  dis- 
covery in  Australia.  The  first  event,  by  causing  a  new  and  sudden 


Memoir.  3 

distribution  of  population,  imparted  a  stimulus  to  the  building  of 
railroads,  and  practically  inaugurated  a  new  era.  The  stir  pervaded 
all  circles  and  was  felt  in  all  branches  of  business.  This  unexpected 
planting  of  a  modern  people  on  the  distant  Pacific  shores  was  what 
gave  birth  to  the  conception  of  a  railway  across  the  continent.  The 
expansion  of  the  manufacturing  business  of  Oliver  Ames  and  Sons 
from  that  time  became  rapid  and  largely  profitable.  Mining,  railroad 
building,  emigration  to  newly  opened  territory,  and  the  multiplication 
of  public  works  united  in  giving  it  an  impetus  that  speedily  raised  it 
to  a  high  rank  in  industrial  importance.  The  same  spirit  of  enterprise 
which  became  a  commanding  characteristic  of  Oakes  Ames  in  after 
years  conspicuously  displayed  itself  during  this  portion  of  his  business 
life.  He  confronted  the  brief  but  fierce  financial  storm  of  1857  with- 
out disturbance,  and  all  went  smoothly  and  successfully  with  him  for 
years  to  come.  The  growth  of  the  business  may  be  somewhat  under- 
stood from  the  statement  that  since  those  days  one  thousand  tons  of 
iron,  two  thousand  tons  of  steel,  and  five  thousand  tons  of  coal  pass 
yearly  through  the  hands  of  five  hundred  workmen  into  the  great 
works,  appearing  again  in  the  form  of  those  indispensable  implements 
which  are  not  to  be  separated  from  the  march  of  civilization. 

The  gathering  clouds  of  civil  war  in  1860  caused  an  anxious  search 
everywhere  for  the  right  men  to  meet  the  impending  calamity.  Oakes 
Ames,  true  to  the  Puritan  instincts  which  were  his  inheritance,  had, 
with  other  men  in  Massachusetts,  come  first  to  the  rescue  of  Kansas 
in  her  hand-to-hand  struggle  for  free  institutions,  and  in  a  sectional 
conflict  could  be  relied  on  to  throw  his  whole  weight  into  the  same 
scale.  The  newly-formed  Republican  party  in  1860  unanimously 
named  him  in  convention  for  Councilor  from  the  Bristol  district,  and 
he  was  chosen  with  scarcely  any  opposition.  Thus,  without  any  solic- 
itation on  his  own  part,  he  became  one  of  the  cabinet  officers  of  Gov- 
ernor Andrew,  who  relied  on  him  as  he  did  on  few  other  men  around 
him  in  that  gloomy  and  threatening  period.  None  were  more  gener- 
ous than  the  famous  "  War  Governor  "  of  Massachusetts  in  acknowl- 
edging the  value  of  the  service  he  then  rendered. 


4  Memoir. 

The  war  for  the  Union  was  dragging  on  to  the  close  of  its  second 
year,  with  no  visible  symptoms  of  a  successful  issue,  and  men  of  tried 
character  were  needed  in  the  government  as  well  as  recruits  for  the 
army.  The  national  existence  was  involved  in  the  careful  composi- 
tion of  Congress  almost  as  much  as  in  the  operations  in  the  field. 
Requests  came  to  Oakes  Ames  from  all  sides  to  consent  to  become  a 
congressional  candidate  in  the  Second  District.  Governor  Andrew 
himself  was  personally  urgent.  Members  of  the  Council  joined  their 
appeals  to  that  of  the  Governor.  Friends  and  neighbors  felt  a  fresh 
hope  kindle,  in  the  possibility  that  he  would  represent  them  in  the 
national  government.  There  were  several  members  of  the  party  who 
aspired  to  the  place  ;  but  when,  a  week  before  the  convention,  his  as- 
sent was  known  to  have  been  obtained,  the  majority  of  them  with- 
drew from  further  contest.  The  intelligence  was  carried  at  midnight 
by  one  of  his  warmest  supporters  to  a  well-known  citizen  of  the  dis- 
trict, who,  roused  from  his  bed  and  summoned  to  the  window  to  re- 
ceive it,  exultingly  exclaimed  in  response,  "  That  settles  the  question 
in  the  Second  District ! " 

Enthusiasm  immediately  pervaded  the  district.  On  the  informal 
ballot  in  convention  he  received  two  thirds  of  all  the  votes  cast,  and 
on  the  next  ballot  was  nominated  with  unanimity.  The  popular  vote 
by  which  he  was  sent  to  Congress  was  flatteringly  large,  and  accom- 
panied with  numerous  expressions  of  public  confidence  besides  those 
strictly  political.  Thus  entering  the  thirty-eighth  Congress,  he  con- 
tinued to  be  reflected  to  the  succeeding  four  Congresses,  serving  ten 
years  altogether,  with  an  acceptability  to  his  constituents  that  was 
felt  by  him  to  be  his  most  satisfactory  reward.  During  these  ten 
years  in  Congress  he  was  a  member  of  the  several  couimittees  on 
Manufactures,  on  the  Pacific  Railroad,  on  Revolutionary  Claims,  and 
on  Roads  and  Canals.  His  views  met  with  an  attentive  hearing,  and 
carried  with  them  admitted  weight.  He  enjoyed  the  personal  confi- 
dence of  President  Lincoln  in  a  large  degree,  who  listened  eagerly 
to  his  suggestions  and  advice,  and  relied  on  his  judgment.  He  was 


Memoir.  5 

reckoned  in  the  group  of  leaders  who  gave  shape  to  the  legislation  of 
the  time,  among  whom  he  held  an  undisputed  place  for  the  soundness 
of  his  counsel  and  the  steadiness  with  which  he  held  his  opinions. 
The  sentiment  of  patriotism  was  deeply  seated  in  his  nature.  He  be- 
lieved in  the  unity  of  his  country  to  the  end.  He  aimed  to  be  as 
faithful  a  public  servant  as  he  had  always  been  citizen.  He  desired 
service  before  all  things. 

As  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Railroads,  he  became  interested 
in  the  government  project  of  building  a  road  to  the  Pacific.  On  the 
first  day  of  July,  1862,  Congress  passed  an  act  authorizing  and  mak- 
ing provision  for  the  construction  of  a  railroad  and  telegraph  line 
from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  was  a  practical  ap- 
peal to  the  patriotism  of  the  capitalists  of  the  Northern  States.  The 
commissioners  named  in  the  act  met  in  the  following  September,  and 
the  subscription  books  were  opened,  but  not  a  dollar  was  subscribed. 
A  little  more  than  a  year  later  enough  was  pledged  to  authorize  the 
election  of  a  board  of  directors,  which  barely  preserved  the  life  of 
the  corporation.  Congress  passed  a  second  act  in  July,  1864,  more 
liberal  than  the  first,  increasing  the  number  of  shares,  doubling  the 
grant  of  land,  authorizing  the  company  to  issue  mortgage  bonds  to 
the  same  amount  as  the  government  bonds,  and  making  the  latter  a 
second  instead  of  a  first  mortgage  on  the  road.  It  likewise  offered 
to  withhold  only  one  half  of  the  money  which  the  road  might  earn 
for  the  government's  transportation,  instead  of  the  whole. 

No  further  legislation  was  had  on  the  road's  behalf  prior  to  its  com- 
pletion. It  had  now  been  incorporated  two  years,  and  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Oakes  Ames  himself,  as  one  of  the  railroad  committee,  it 
was  "  in  great  danger  of  breaking  down."  The  only  practical  result 
of  this  new  offer  by  Congress  was  the  contract  with  Hoxie,  in  the  fol- 
lowing month,  to  build  one  hundred  miles  of  road  westward  from  the 
Missouri  River.  Six  months  demonstrated  his  inability  to  execute  his 
contract.  The  company  began  to  discover  that  individual  contractors 
were  not  to  be  relied  on  to  do  the  work,  — that  consolidated  means 
alone  were  equal  to  it. 


6  Memoir. 

It  was  at  that  time  that  Oakes  Ames  was  approached  from  one 
side  and  another,  being  well  known  to  favor  the  road  as  a  member  of 
the  railroad  committee,  to  persuade  him  to  take  hold  of  the  matter 
himself.  He  then  did  not  own  a  single  share  of  the  stock.  Men  of 
influence,  in  Congress  and  out,  with  President  Lincoln  himself,  urged 
him,  to  the  limit  of  importunity,  to  enlist  in  the  undertaking.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  declared  the  government  would  do  better  to  give  its 
bonds  to  the  company  than  to  go  without  the  road.  He  assured  Mr. 
Ames  that  by  building  this  road  he  would  become  the  remembered 
man  of  his  generation. 

After  nearly  a  year  of  solicitation  of  this  kind,  and  patient  delib- 
eration on  his  own  part,  he  decided  to  assume  the  herculean  task. 
He  had  a  just  appreciation  of  the  difficulties  he  was  to  encounter  be- 
fore he  entered  upon  its  execution.  He  was  not  a  man  to  engage  in 
such  an  unparalleled  undertaking  rashly. 

The  Credit  Mobilier  of  America,  a  corporation  organized  under  the 
laws  of  Pennsylvania,  had  assumed  the  Hoxie  contract  on  the  15th 
of  March,  1865,  and  at  once  entered  on  its  performance.  But  it  was 
not  long  in  discovering,  in  its  turn,  that  it  was  unequal  to  the  under- 
taking. The  obstacles  were  overwhelming.  The  premium  on  gold 
was  one  hundred  and  fifty ;  the  first  mortgage  bonds  of  the  company 
were  unsalable ;  the  government  bonds  themselves  had  no  fixed 
value,  were  payable  in  currency,  and  could  be  sold  with  not  much 
less  difficulty  than  those  of  the  company  ;  transportation  of  building 
material  was  slow,  difficult,  and  extremely  high ;  the  cost  of  labor 
was  extravagant ;  and  there  were  no  signs  of  public  confidence  in  the 
ultimate  building  of  the  road,  or  in  its  builders  ever  being  remuner- 
ated. 

At  this  stage  Oakes  Ames  entered  the  Credit  Mobilier  company, 
and,  with  the  aid  of  a  few  associates,  brought  up  the  amount  of  paid 
subscriptions,  by  the  autumn  of  1865,  to  two  and  a  half  million  dol- 
lars. The  railroad  company  appealed  to  the  construction  company  to 
build  the  road,  satisfied  that  it  could  do  nothing  of  itself.  The  latter 


Memoir.  7 

corporation  did  assume  the  Hoxie  contract  of  one  hundred  miles,  and 
completed  it  by  October,  1866.  Two  parties  soon  developed  within 
the  Credit  Mobilier  company,  their  purposes  being  wholly  dissimilar : 
one  party  desiring  simply  to  make  all  the  profit  possible  from  the 
construction  of  the  road ;  the  other  party  resolved  to  make  their 
profits  out  of  the  ultimate  value  of  the  road  itself.  The  latter  was 
headed  by  Oakes  Ames.  This  internal  conflict  resulted  in  the  stop- 
ping of  all  further  contracts,  and  in  the  dissipation  of  the  company's 
funds. 

The  capital  stock  was  increased  fifty  per  cent.,  although  it  was  an 
act  attended  with  much  difficulty.  This  was  early  in  1867.  But 
without  a  definite  contract  it  was  obvious  that  all  would  run  to 
waste.  Neither  party  would  recede  from  its  position  for  some  time. 
At  last  the  contest  ended  in  a  compromise.  Oakes  Ames  was  al- 
lowed to  take  a  contract.  It  was  to  be  his,  and  not  the  company's. 
Up  to  the  date  of  the  Oakes  Ames  contract,  the  Credit  Mobilier 
company  had  constructed  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  miles  of  road, 
using  up  all  its  capital,  and  making  but  two  six  per  cent,  dividends. 

The  Oakes  Ames  contract  was  for  building  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  miles  of  road.  It  was  dated  August  16,  1867.  The  rates  per 
mile  varied.  Engineering  and  equipments  of  every  description  were 
to  be  paid  for  by  the  contractor. 

Two  months  later,  October  15,  1867,  Oakes  Ames  made  an  assign- 
ment of  this  contract  to  seven  trustees,  who  should  build  the  road 
instead  of  himself.  They  were  to  take  his  place  in  everything. 
The  profits  of  the  contract  were  to  be  paid  over  to  the  individual 
holders  of  stock  in  the  Credit  Mobilier.  The  Credit  Mobilier  stock- 
holders were  to  give  irrevocable  proxies  to  the  trustees  to  vote  on 
six  tenths  of  all  their  Union  Pacific  stock,  and  the  Union  Pacific 
stockholders  were  all  to  approve  the  contract.  And  it  was  on  this 
contract  that  the  road  was  built  and  turned  over  to  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  early  in  1869. 

It  is  admitted  by  all  parties  that  Oakes  Ames  was  the  only  person 


8  Memoir. 

who  could  at  that  time  have  taken  such  a  contract.  He  made  no 
promises,  and  none  were  exacted  of  him.  "  Of  course  I  must  have 
associates,"  he  said,  "but  no  man  shall  be  wronged  ;  none  shall  be 
deprived  of  his  rights.  I  am  an  honest  man,  and  I  will  see  that  every 
man  is  protected."  It  was  determined  that  the  individual  stockhold- 
ers of  the  Credit  Mobilier  company  should  have  the  profit,  rather  than 
the  Credit  Mobilier  as  a  corporation.  He  meant  that  the  enterprise 
should  become  a  substantial  one  rather  than  that  its  value  should  end 
with  its  execution. 

With  this  transfer  of  his  contract  the  work  of  Oakes  Ames  really 
began.  He  gave  to  it  all  the  energies  of  his  nature.  For  himself  he 
invested  a  million  dollars  in  the  enterprise,  and  put  his  entire  fortune 
to  the  hazard.  He  personally  addressed  all  his  friends  to  induce 
them  to  join  him,  —  men  of  standing  and  influence,  capitalists  of  all 
grades,  those  in  Congress  and  out  of  it.  He  went  so  far  as  to  offer  to 
guarantee  to  many  the  full  value  of  the  stock  they  might  purchase, 
with  ten  per  cent,  interest.  He  was  ready  to  venture  everything,  so 
fixed  were  his  determination  and  his  faith.  He  asked  no  one  to  take 
a  risk  which  he  was  not  willing  to  take  more  largely  himself. 

The  road  was  constructed,  and  mainly  through  his  exertions  and 
sacrifices.  It  was  completed  seven  years  earlier  than  the  terms  of  the 
contract  required.  From  that  date  onward  the  government  was  a 
gainer,  in  the  expenses  of  transportation,  of  millions  of  dollars  annu- 
ally: While  the  work  was  in  progress,  its  builders  overcoming  the 
most  formidable  obstructions,  both  physical  and  financial,  the  coun- 
try looked  on  in  incredulous  wonder.  The  repeated  applause  of 
the  press  stimulated  the  public  admiration  to  a  very  high  degree, 
although  it  had  little  effect  in  increasing  the  sale  of  the  company's 
bonds  when  the  proceeds  were  most  needed.  With  its  triumph- 
ant completion  it  was  universally  felt  that  the  union  of  the  States 
was  indeed  indissoluble.  The  immense  advantage  to  the  country 
began  to  be  seen  almost  immediately.  The  popular  applause  was 
now  as  enthusiastic  as  the  general  confidence  had  before  been  re- 


Memoir.  9 

strained.  The  tide  had  turned,  but  the  result  did  not  come  without 
a  world  of  effort,  unsparing  and  unrein itted.  That  it  should  have 
been  succeeded,  four  years  later,  by  one  of  those  inconsistent  and  all 
but  inexplicable  reversals  of  the  public  judgment  which  furnish  the 
episodes  of  human  history,  was  as  wholly  unexpected  as  it  was  unrea- 
sonable. 

Thus  was  the  Credit  Mobilier  given  the  credit  of  having  built  the 
Union  Pacific,  though  it  was  its  stockholders,  and  not  the  organization 
itself,  who  achieved  the  task  and  reaped  the  profits  of  their  hazardous 
investment.  So  far  as  that  organization  was  concerned,  it  had  served 
its  purposes,  and  would  have  ceased  almost  to  be  remembered  ex- 
cept by  its  stockholders.  They  had  done  the  work,  and  done  it 
well. 

The  whole  subsequent  trouble  arose  from  the  dissensions  within  it 
as  a  corporation,  which  have  been  already  referred  to.  The  men  who 
had  formerly  held  back,  refusing  to  go  any  further,  seeing  what  vigor 
had  suddenly  been  imparted  to  it  by  the  introduction  of  new  energy, 
suddenly  forgot  their  old  reluctance  to  share  in  its  responsibilities,  and 
came  forward  eagerly  to  demand  what  but  a  little  time  before  they 
had  refused  on  any  terms.  The  idea  possessed  some  minds  that  this 
was  a  new  quarry,  from  which  to  extract  large  personal  profits  on 
such  pretexts  as  were  most  convenient.  A  government  inspector,  as 
early  as  1867,  refused,  unless  he  was  paid  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
to  report  on  the  sections  of  the  road  it  was  his  official  duty  to  exam- 
ine ;  and  without  his  report,  the  government,  of  course,  declined  issu- 
ing its  bonds  to  the  company,  and  the  work  of  construction  was  hin- 
dered accordingly.  There  was  a  spirit  abroad  that  is  best  described 
by  the  offensive  term  blackmail.  Progress  and  profit  soon  began  to 
collect  all  the  birds  of  evil  omen  in  quest  of  prey.  If  a  govern- 
ment inspector  demanded  pay  for  performing  his  plain  official  service, 
what  might  not  be  expected  of  others  whose  claims  were  not  more 
substantial  ?  There  were  lobbyists,  too,  always  on  hand  to  whet  their 
greedy  plans  on  any  project  that  contained  the  promise  of  profit,  and 


10  Memoir. 

they  were  able  to  organize  hostility  in  all  forms,  the  sole  object  of 
which  was  purchase  for  its  removal. 

There  was  a  bold  and  concerted  attack  on  the  Union  Pacific  Com- 
pany in  New  York  in  the  spring  of  1869,  about  the  date  when  the 
construction  company  turned  the  road  over  to  the  railroad  company, 
to  obtain  control  of  the  company  through  the  orders  of  state  courts, 
whose  judges  after  wards  found  their  places  in  the  legislative  and  popu- 
lar opinion.  The  conspirators  were  resolved  to  get  forcible  possession 
of  a  franchise  which  had  been  made  greatly  valuable  in  spite  of  their 
opposition  ;  they  were  inspired  by  revenge  and  envy  together.  The 
offices  were  seized  under  cover  of  legal  procedure.  The  safes  were 
forced  open  and  a  number  of  bonds  abstracted.  The  clerks,  however, 
managed  to  secrete  and  secure  most  of  the  books,  which  were  surrep- 
titiously carried  over  to  Jersey  City,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  New  York 
courts.  The  Union  Pacific  Company  received  a  foul  blow  at  that 
critical  period  of  its  opening  activity  that  left  it  almost  a  ruin.  For 
the  first  time  it  applied  to  Congress  for  relief.  All  it  asked  was  au- 
thority to  remove  its  office  from  New  York  to  Boston,  and  the  request 
was  readily  granted. 

There  was  one  other  untoward  experience,  and  a  wholly  unex- 
pected one,  through  which  it  was  called  to  pass.  In  the  face  of  the 
plain  contract  which  the  railroad  company  had  made  with  the  gov- 
ernment, the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ruled  that  the  government 
had  a  right  to  retain  the  whole  of  the  money  it  owed  the  company  for 
transportation,  instead  of  one  half  only.  The  basis  for  such  a  decis- 
ion was  that  the  accumulating  interest  on  the  government  bonds  held 
by  the  company  warranted  the  application  of  all  the  company's 
money  to  its  payment  which  the  government  held  in  its  hands.  The 
Attorney-General  supported  this  decision  of  the  Secretary  in  an  opin- 
ion that,  to  this  day,  is  pointed  to  by  lawyers  as  phenomenal  for  its 
misinterpretation  and  illogical  conclusions.  For  the  second  time  the 
railroad  company  went  to  Congress  to  obtain  the  authoritative  ex- 
pression of  its  opinion  in  a  matter  that  hardly  seemed  to  admit  of  dis- 


Memoir.  11 

pute ;  and  Congress,  in  1871,  reversed  the  ruling  of  the  Secretary  by 
a  special  act  conforming  to  the  plain  terms  of  the  company's  contract 
with  the  government,  and  directed  the  Secretary  to  pay  over  to  the 
company  the  one  half  due  it  for  transportation  service,  which  was  ac- 
cordingly done. 

Those  who  were  in  the  construction  company  being  also  in  the  rail- 
road company,  they  found  it  necessary  for  some  time  after  the  road 
was  finished  to  keep  it  in  operation  by  drafts  on  their  own  resources. 
They  were  millions  of  dollars  in  debt,  and  the  road  must  be  operated 
in  order  to  guarantee  them  ultimate  relief.  The  withholding  of  half 
the  road's  government  earnings  at  such  a  time  was  a  highly  obstruc- 
tive item  in  their  experience.  It  likewise  had  the  effect  to  depreciate 
the  value  of  the  company's  securities  for  a  time,  and  thus  to  cramp 
proceedings  seriously.  This  decision  of  the  Treasury,  so  soon  set 
aside  by  Congress,  embarrassed  the  finances  of  Oakes  Ames  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  felt  compelled  to  appeal  to  his  creditors  for  their  indul- 
gence. It  was  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  had  been  driven  to  such  an 
extremity.  They  granted  his  request,  however,  with  generous  prompt- 
ness and  unanimity,  and  he  subsequently  cleared  himself  from  his 
temporary  embarrassments  by  meeting  every  one  of  his  renewed 
promises  as  they  matured. 

But  it  was  the  McComb  suit  that  was  the  parent  cause  of  the 
trouble,  which,  by  finally  being  made  to  take  a  political  coloring,  cul- 
minated in  a  panic  in  Congress  during  the  short  session  of  1872-73. 
McComb  caught  the  spirit  that  was  in  the  air  when  the  road  was 
progressing  so  rapidly  to  completion,  and  saw  what  he  thought  was 
his  opportunity.  He  set  up  a  claim  to  the  right  to  receive  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock,  which  he  as- 
serted was  due  to  a  friend  on  account  of  the  subscription  made  for 
him  early  in  1866.  McComb,  though  a  member  of  the  Credit  Mobi- 
lier, was  not  of  the  Oakes  Ames  party  that  controlled  that  company 
in  the  matter  of  the  Oakes  Ames  contract.  A  correspondence,  wholly 
of  an  explanatory  character  on  one  side,  took  place  between  Mr.  Ames 


12  Memoir. 

and  Colonel  McComb  in  relation  to  the  distribution  of  the  stock.  The 
former  was  more  particularly  anxious  to  convince  McComb  that  he 
had  not  kept  certain  stock  for  himself,  but  had  placed  it  with  men  of 
standing  and  influence,  and  in  so  judicious  a  manner  that  it  would 
give  all  possible  breadth  to  the  status  of  the  railroad  company,  and 
impart  to  it  a  truly  national  character.  Without  any  consciousness 
of  using  language  that  could  be  subjected  to  misconstruction,  he  ex- 
plained that  he  had  placed  such  stock  where  it  would  do  most  good. 
It  was  a  plain  man's  plain  way  of  speaking.  It  was  these  few  brief 
letters  of  Oakes  Ames  to  a  harassing  claimant,  written  only  to  try 
to  satisfy  him  that  all  had  been  done  fairly  and  justly,  that,  by  mali- 
cious misconstruction,  inflamed  by  party  passions  in  the  time  of  a 
general  election,  were  used  for  the  purpose  of  wrecking  public  reputa- 
tions in  the  expectation  of  political  advantage.  It  was  a  baseless  cause, 
passing  through  a  highly  colored  medium,  that  produced  such  insen- 
sate results.  It  was  a  strange  episode,  that  could  hardly  occur  again 
in  our  political  history. 

After  pressing  his  claim  to  no  purpose,  seeing  that  the  work  of 
building  the  road  had  at  last  been  seriously  entered  upon,  in  the  latter 
part  of  1867  McComb  brought  suit.  This  suit,  while  the  completed 
road  was  getting  into  profitable  operation,  he  kept  alive  until  1872. 
In  that  year  his  counsel  came  to  the  Ames  party  with  proposals  for 
a  settlement.  The  claim  was  still  made  for  twenty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars' worth  of  stock.  It  was  repudiated,  as  it  had  been  before.  Then 
McComb's  counsel  suggested  the  possibility  of  the  publication  of 
Oakes  Ames's  letters  to  McComb,  which  were  written  for  the  very 
purpose  of  explaining  away  the  grounds  of  his  claim.  The  idea  con- 
veyed was  that  the  members  to  whom  Oakes  Ames  admitted  that  he 
had  assigned  shares  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock  could  be  disgraced  by  an 
exposure  of  the  fact.  The  one  who  threw  out  such  a  suggestion  of 
course  knew  the  methods  to  be  resorted  to  for  that  purpose.  Among 
the  names  referred  to  were  those  of  well-known  members  of  Congress, 
whom  it  was  thought  that  neither  Mr.  Ames  nor  his  associates  would 


Memoir.  13 

permit  to  be  subjected  to  such  dangerous  chances.  The  calculation 
was  that,  rather  than  incur  a  risk  of  such  a  character,  they  would 
pay  the  McCorab  claim. 

But  they  had  reckoned  without  their  host.  Wholly  unconscious 
of  wrong,  either  in  deed  or  intention,  Oakes  Ames  turned  aside  the 
menace  with  a  smile.  Had  he  been  engaged  in  a  wrong  act,  he 
would  naturally  have  made  haste  to  cover  it  up  in  the  only  manner 
in  which  it  could  be  done.  He  would  have  settled  the  McComb  claim 
from  his  own  pocket.  His  associates,  too,  in  that  case,  never  would 
have  let  the  matter  proceed  to  extremities.  They  knew  that  Oakes 
Ames  was  incapable  of  doing  an  improper  act,  and  therefore  they  felt 
that  he  had  nothing  to  express  in  his  correspondence  that  would 
imply  it.  The  claim  was  resisted  again,  and  the  threat  of  exposure 
was  executed. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  discuss  the  alleged  validity  of  McComb's  claim 
thus  set  up  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  shares  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock, 
with  an  addition  of  half  as  many  more  on  account  of  the  fifty  per 
cent,  increase  of  the  company's  capital.  Enough  that  he,  with  other 
stockholders,  subscribed  an  agreement  with  them  all  to  transfer  sixty- 
five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  the  capital  stock  to  such  parties  as 
T.  C.  Durant  and  Oakes  Ames  "  have  agreed  upon  and  designate,  — 
say,  to  Durant  parties  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars'  worth,  and  to 
Ames  parties  twenty-eight  thousand  dollars."  This  agreement  also 
shows  that  Mr.  Ames  paid  the  par  value  of  the  shares  to  the  company. 
In  spite  of  this  agreement,  however,  McComb  persisted  in  his  hostil- 
ity to  the  company,  and  at  length  commenced  suit  against  it  and  its 
officers  to  recover  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  shares  of  its  stock 
to  his  individual  use. 

McComb  filed  affidavits,  in  the  summer  of  1872,  in  a  Pennsylvania 
court,  that  the  stock  he  claimed  had  been  set  apart  by  the  Credit 
Mobilier  for  Mr.  Ames,  expressly  to  distribute  among  members  of 
Congress,  in  order  to  give  them  interest  enough  in  the  road  to  secure 
their  legislative  assistance  when  it  should  be  needed.  He  also  alleged 


14  Memoir. 

that  Mr.  Ames  had  received  it  for  that  purpose,  and  for  that  purpose 
had  distributed  it ;  that  it  was  a  corrupt  distribution,  because  he  had 
sold  the  stock  to  members  of  Congress  at  a  price  much  below  what  it 
was  worth,  and  thus  bribed  them  with  the  prospect  of  profits.  He 
gave  a  list  of  Congressmen  to  whom  he  stated  that  the  stock  had  been 
transferred  on  these  favorable  terms,  which  list  he  asserted  Mr.  Ames 
had  himself  furnished  him ;  and  he  filed,  along  with  his  affidavit,  cer- 
tain letters  which  he  said  he  had  received  from  Mr.  Ames,  in  which 
the  proof  of  a  corrupt  use  of  the  stock  was  stated  to  be  conclusive. 

It  is  established  that  when,  at  last,  McComb's  counsel  proposed  to 
one  of  Mr.  Ames's  associates  to  settle  for  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars the  latter  asked  Mr.  Ames  if  he  had  ever  attempted  to  influ- 
ence any  member  of  Congress  by  a  sale  of  the  stock  below  its  value  ; 
and  that  the  latter  denied  the  imputation  in  the  most  strenuous  man- 
ner, maintaining  his  integrity  and  challenging  the  scrutiny  of  the 
world.  He  declared  he  had  never  written  to  McComb  any  such  let- 
ters as  the  latter  claimed  to  have  in  his  possession,  and  none  which 
were  fairly  capable  of  a  corrupt  construction.  These  letters  were 
even  offered  to  be  surrendered  to  Mr.  Ames,  if  he  would  come  to 
some  terms  of  settlement.  But  he  knew  that  as  McComb  had  no 
claim  whatever  for  stock,  so  he  could  have  no  letters  of  his  that  could 
incriminate  him. 

The  letters  were  made  public  in  a  New  York  journal  of  extended 
circulation,  on  the  4th  of  September,  1872,  with  all  the  arts  of  prac- 
ticed sensationalism.  It  was  while  a  presidential  and  a  general  con- 
gressional election  was  pending.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the 
excitement  that  at  once  ran  wild  through  the  country  according  to 
any  rules  of  reason  or  morality.  The  members  of  Congress  whose 
names  were  involved  seemed  to  have  been  terror-stricken.  The  fire 
thus  kindled  broke  forth  in  a  flame.  There  must  have  been  a  maze 
of  transactions  in  which  Congressmen  were  engaged  that  would  not 
bear  exposure,  in  order  to  suddenly  precipitate  such  a  storm.  There 
would  never  have  been  so  much  fear,  if  there  were  not  a  great  deal  of 


Memoir.  15 

undiscovered  guilt.  Besides  this,  a  check  had  been  administered  to  a 
long  course  of  general  profusion  by  the  growing  public  disfavor.  The 
newspapers  found  this  new  charge  the  very  fuel  they  wanted  for 
feeding  the  flames  of  popular  disapprobation,  and  they  made  it  go  as 
far  as  it  would. 

It  was  alleged,  in  order  to  carry  out  the  idea  of  corruption,  that 
the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  had  made  enormous  profits.  It  was  reck- 
lessly charged  that  Oakes  Ames  had  distributed  thirty  thousand 
shares  of  stock  as  bribes,  having  a  value  of  nine  million  dollars.  The 
records  of  the  Pennsylvania  court  in  which  suit  was  brought  were 
spread  before  the  public,  —  how  obtained  has  never  yet  been  explained ; 
and  leading  public  men  were  spoken  of  as  if  they  had  been  bribed 
to  do  legislative  favors  for  the  road.  All  was  suddenly  tumultuous 
uproar.  As  the  loud  echoes  of  party  passion  multiplied,  the  low  voice 
of  reason  grew  silent  altogether.  It  was  all  consternation  within 
and  accusatory  aggressiveness  without.  No  one  knew  the  extent  to 
which  the  rest  were  either  guilty  or  innocent.  There  was  political 
advantage  to  be  gained  on  one  side  at  the  cost  of  political  ruin  on  the 
other.  The  party  seeking  control  naturally  abated  nothing  of  the  ran- 
cor or  recklessness  of  the  charges  brought  against  its  opponent.  The 
party  in  possession  contained  an  inconvenient  number  of  leaders,  who 
were  not  specially  inclined  to  make  haste  to  set  up  a  mutual  defense. 
There  was  little  real  community  of  sentiment  except  in  relation  to 
the  party  seeking  their  defeat. 

And  there  was  a  spirit  abroad  that  was  disposed  to  sit  in  judgment 
on  the  character  of  past  legislation  A  reaction  was  fast  setting  in 
from  the  flush  times  of  the  past  few  years.  The  day  of  general  reck- 
oning was  near.  All  sorts  of  scandals  in  official  life  were  being  dragged 
to  the  light.  Hardly  any  one  connected  with  the  government  knew 
his  precise  status  in  a  time  when  all  things  were  reeling.  A  reign  of 
terror  had  begun.  In  the  circles  of  power  no  one  could  say  whether 
he  was  safe  or  not.  The  atmosphere  was  heavy  with  the  taint  of  evil 
rumors.  Characters  never  suspected  of  impurity  suffered  from  the 


16  Memoir. 

prevailing  spirit  of  detraction.  If  it  was  the  incoming  of  the  wave  of 
reform,  it  promised  to  be  one  of  destruction  only.  The  inspiring  mo- 
tive of  that  political  campaign  never  had  its  parallel  in  this  country. 
It  was  a  campaign  of  detraction  and  malice,  terrorism  and  panic. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  it  was  impossible  for  the  dom- 
inant party  to  ignore  these  fearful  assaults  on  its  reputation.  An 
investigation  by  select  committee  was  at  once  ordered  by  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  entered  upon  with  little  delay.  The  excite- 
ment raised  by  the  political  canvass  was  thus  continued  by  Congress. 
Parties  ranged  themselves  strictly  on  this  issue  of  bribery.  One  did 
not  scruple  to  employ  any  weapons  that  would  bring  discomfiture  to 
its  opponent,  even  though  it  destroyed  the  highest  reputations  ;  the 
other  was  ready  to  confess  to  an  almost  equal  degree  of  unscrupu- 
lousness  in  adopting  measures  of  self-defense.  The  one  difficult  thing 
to  do  was  to  elicit  the  truth,  and  the  whole  truth.  But  for  the  trans- 
parent honesty  of  one  man  in  Congress,  it  is  questionable  if  the  facts 
had  ever  been  brought  to  the  light  just  as  they  were.  That  man  was 
Oakes  Ames.  Solicited  and  urged  as  he  was  to  sustain  the  contradic- 
tory statements  of  the  panic-stricken  men  about  him,  he  never  for  an 
instant  swerved  from  the  path  he  had  followed  without  deviation  all 
his  life.  No  member  of  Congress  could  rely  on  him  to  testify  what 
was  not  strictly  true,  though  it  were  to  save  him  from  political  ruin  ; 
he  would  not  have  done  it  to  save  himself.  It  is  above  all  things 
singular  that  such  a  man  could  be  suspected  of  corrupt  practices,  and 
condemned  on  the  charge  of  having  pursued  them. 

The  Poland  committee  was  directed  to  discover  if  any  members 
had  been  guilty  of  bribing  or  receiving  bribes  ;  the  Wilson  committee 
was  appointed  to  discover  if  the  government  had  been  defrauded. 
The  popular  clamor  forced  open  the  doors  of  the  committee-rooms, 
that  the  proceedings  might  be  in  the  face  of  day,  and  nothing  be  hid- 
den from  the  public  eye.  It  was  enough  that  it  was  charged  that  the 
people  had  been  cheated  in  the  construction  of  this  railroad,  and  that 
members  of  Congress  had  been  bribed.  It  was  the  most  difficult  of 


Memoir.  17 

all  problems  to  know  how  to  appease  this  aroused  popular  sentiment. 
The  leaders  of  the  party  in  power  were  confounded,  hardly  knowing 
which  way  to  turn.  When  they  saw  that  the  people  would  not  suf- 
fer an  investigation  to  proceed  with  closed  doors,  they  saw,  too,  that 
it  would  not  do  to  try  to  palliate  the  offense  charged.  They  felt  that 
vindication  now  was  not  so  easy  as  the  offer  of  a  sacrifice.  In  that 
period  of  panic,  when  all  hung  on  the  testimony  of  one  man,  and  he 
incapable  of  untruth  in  any  form,  it  occurred  to  them  that  in  visiting 
punishment  upon  him  they  would  vindicate  themselves,  and  destroy 
the  damning  effect  of  his  imperturbable  veracity. 

The  trouble  all  came  from  the  denials  made  by  certain  members  of 
Congress  during  the  canvass  that  they  had  ever  owned  any  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier  stock,  or  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  But  for  this 
the  storm  would  have  blown  over  before  Congress  assembled.  It  is 
scarcely  supposable  that  McComb  or  his  counsel  could  have  counted 
on  so  effective  an  ally  for  their  purpose  as  this  panic  among  congress- 
men proved. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  the  excitement  had  not  suffi- 
ciently abated  to  allow  the  subject  to  rest  for  ever  so  brief  a  time, 
and  Speaker  Elaine,  calling  Mr.  S.  S.  Cox  to  the  chair,  took  the  floor, 
and  proceeded  to  review  the  matter,  closing  his  remarks  with  a  pro- 
posal to  appoint  a  special  committee  to  investigate  the  charges  against 
members  of  Congress,  and  report  thereon  to  the  House.  There  was 
not  an  objection  raised  to  it.  The  resolution  adopted  by  the  House 
read  as  follows  :  — 

"  Whereas,  accusations  have  been  made  in  the  public  press,  founded  on  the 
alleged  letters  of  Oakes  Ames,  a  Representative  from  Massachusetts,  and  upon 
the  alleged  affidavit  of  Henry  S.  McComb,  a  citizen  of  Wilmington,  in  the 
State  of  Delaware,  to  the  effect  that  members  of  this  House  were  bribed  by 
Oakes  Ames  to  perform  certain  legislative  acts  for  the  benefit  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railway  Company,  by  presents  of  stock  in  the  Credit  Mobilier  of 
America,  or  by  presents  of  a  valuable  character  derived  therefrom ;  therefore, 

"fiesolved,  That  a  special  committee  of  five  members  be  appointed  by  the 
2 


18  Memoir. 

Speaker  pro  tempore,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  investigate  and  ascertain 
whether  any  member  of  this  House  was  bribed  by  Oakes  Ames,  or  any  other 
person  or  corporation,  in  any  matter  touching  his  legislative  duty. 

"  Resolved  further,  That  the  committee  have  the  right  to  employ  a  stenog- 
rapher, and  that  they  be  empowered  to  send  for  persons  and  papers." 

Without  a  day's  delay  the  committee  proceeded  to  its  work.  It  was 
composed  as  follows :  Luke  P.  Poland,  of  Vermont,  chairman ;  Na- 
thaniel P.  Banks,  of  Massachusetts;  James  B.  Beck,  of  Kentucky; 
William  E.  Niblack,  of  Indiana ;  George  W.  McCrary,  of  Iowa.  It 
sat  daily  until  about  the  middle  of  February,  examining  every  person 
who  had  any  knowledge  of  the  subject  inquired  into.  Each  member 
of  Congress  who  was  charged  with,  having  had  any  interest  in  the 
Credit  Mobilier  appeared  and  gave  his  testimony. 

The  unprecedented  character  of  the  whole  proceeding  did  not  then 
impress  Congress  or  the  public  as  it  did  at  a  later  period  and  when 
the  excitement  was  over  ;  in  that  it  was  an  investigation  into  the  con- 
duct of  men  for  which  the  sitting  Congress  could  not  hold  them  re- 
sponsible, and  that,  even  if  found  guilty,  they  could  not  be  punished 
in  a  parliamentary,  much  less  in  a  legal,  sense.  The  offense,  if  there 
was  one,  had  been  committed  five  years  before,  and  could  not  come 
within  the  legislative  jurisdiction  of  a  Congress  which  then  had  no 
existence.  No  statement  could  very  well  make  it  more  apparent  that 
the  whole  thing  was  the  chaotic  result  of  a  political  panic.  The 
plain  unreasonableness  of  it  in  every  view  showed  that  the  party  in 
the  majority  bad  silently  predetermined  to  save  itself  from  the  effect 
of  a  popular  clamor  by  making  a  personal  sacrifice.  The  leaders  of 
the  time,  who  had  clearly  lost  their  heads,  thought  that  the  excited 
public  temper  must  be  appeased,  at  any  rate,  and  that  it  could  not  be 
done  so  easily  as  by  throwing  all  the  blame  —  assuming  that  there 
was  any  blame  —  on  the  mysterious  Credit  Mobilier  and  Oakes  Ames. 

A  perusal  at  this  day  of  the  reported  testimony  before  the  commit- 
tee is  not  calculated  to  exalt  one's  estimate  of  human  nature  when 
found  in  conspicuous  places.  The  denials  which  had  been  so  freely 


Memoir.  19 

made  by  members  of  Congress,  while  the  presidential  and  congres- 
sional canvass  was  pending,  their  authors  presumed  would  be  upheld 
by  the  statements  of  Oakes  Ames  before  the  committee.  They  had 
not  reckoned  on  the  inconvenient  factor  of  truth  in  the  problem  they 
had  themselves  proposed  for  solution.  There  never  were,  in  fact,  but 
two  ways  out  of  the  difficulty :  either  they  should  have  admitted  out- 
right, as  a  few  did,  that  they  had  purchased  Credit  Mobilier  stock, 
which  nobody  would  have  questioned  their  right  to  do,  or  Oakes 
Ames  should  have  confirmed  their  denials  by  falsehood  of  his  own. 
They  had  yet  to  learn  that  of  this  he  was  incapable.  Those  who  con- 
fessed that  they  had  bought  the  stock,  and  felt  that  no  wrong  was 
done,  were  never  afterwards  placed  under  the  ban  of  public  condemna- 
tion. It  was  the  denial  and  the  prevarication  that  wrought  all  the 
mischief,  by  exciting  suspicion  from  the  first  that  the  Credit  Mobilier 
was  a  machine  for  corruption,  when  it  was  a  construction  company 
merely. 

The  Wilson  committee  was  raised  to  discover  what  connection  the 
Credit  Mobilier  had  with  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  to  see  if  the  government  had  in  any  way  been  defrauded.  The 
final  report  of  this  committee  showed  a  surprising  misconception  of 
the  whole  business.  The  political  excitement  had  confused  this  com- 
mittee equally  with  the  other  one.  It  did  not  see  that  there  was 
no  connection  between  the  Credit  Mobilier  and  the  Oakes  Ames 
contract ;  that  as  a  corporation  it  had  never  received  anything  from 
that  contract ;  that,  except  from  the  money  paid  it  by  the  seven  trus- 
tees of  the  Oakes  Ames  contract,  the  Credit  Mobilier  had  never  de- 
clared a  dividend  beyond  the  twelve  per  cent,  one  extending  over  two 
years ;  that  all  the  capital  the  Credit  Mobilier  ever  had  was  sunk  in 
the  construction  of  a  section  of  the  road ;  and  that  it  was  plucked  by 
its  early  managers,  so  that  it  had  no  power  to  do  anything,  fraudulent 
or  otherwise. 

Nor  did  this  committee  see,  either,  how  the  government  was  re- 
lated to  the  two  Pacific  roads.  It  appeared  to  think  that  the  gov- 


20  Memoir. 

ernment  had  loaned  them  money  from  its  treasury,  when  the  fact 
was  that  it  had  never  advanced  them  one  dollar,  and  had  never  been 
asked  to.  It  loaned  them  its  credit,  and  that  was  all ;  and  for  that 
loan  they  are  still  obligated,  and  are  to-day  engaged  in  the  task  of 
providing  for  its  repayment  in  full.  The  government  loaned  its  notes, 
in  the  form  of  bonds,  which  the  Union  Pacific  builders  sold  from 
time  to  time  on  such  terms  as  they  were  able.  The  security  for  its 
loan  consisted  of  a  second  mortgage  on  the  road.  The  committee  re- 
ported that  the  government  could  rightly  declare  the  company  had 
forfeited  its  franchise.  And  they  stated  the  profit  of  construction  to 
be  nearly  three  times  what  it  was. 

They  recommended  that  a  suit  be  instituted  against  every  individ- 
ual who  had  ever  received  any  of  the  dividends  declared  by  the  con- 
struction company  from  the  profits  of  construction.  And  a  suit  was 
subsequently  begun  by  the  Attorney-General,  obediently  to  this  recom- 
mendation, to  recover  in  equity  all  the  property  which  it  was  assumed 
had  been  wrongly  taken  from  the  government.  But  in  1879  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  affirmed  the  decision  of  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Connecticut,  declaring  that  there  was  "  no  right  to 
relief  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  founded  on  the  charter  con- 
tract ;  "  that  "  the  company  has  constructed  its  road  to  completion, 
keeps  it  in  running  order,  and  carries  for  the  government  all  that  is 
required  of  it ;  "  that  "  it  owes  the  government  nothing  that  is  due, 
and  the  government  has  the  security  which  by  law  it  provided.  Nor 
does  the  bill  show  anything  which  authorizes  the  United  States,  as  the 
depository  of  a  trust,  public  or  private,  to  sustain  the  suit."  The 
Court  argued  thus :  "  The  government  made  its  contract  and  bar- 
gained for  its  security.  It  had  a  first  lien  on  the  road  by  the  original 
act  of  incorporation,  which  would  have  made  its  loan  safe  in  any 
event.  But  in  its  anxiety  to  secure  the  construction  of  the  road,  —  an 
end  more  important  to  the  government  than  to  any  one  else,  and  still 
more  important  to  the  people  whom  it  represented,  —  it  postponed 
this  lien  to  another  mortgage,  that  the  means  might  be  raised  to  com- 


Memoir.  21 

plete  it."  ..."  It  is  difficult  to  see  any  right  which  the  government 
has  as  a  creditor  to  interfere  between  the  corporation  and  those  with 
whom  it  deals."  ..."  We  are  unable,  therefore,  to  see  any  relief 
which  the  United  States  would  be  entitled  to  in  a  court  of  equity, 
under  this  bill,  on  account  of  its  contract  relations  with  the  defend- 
ant." ..."  A  court  of  justice  is  not  called  on  to  inquire  into  the 
balance  of  benefits  and  favors  on  each  side  of  this  controversy,  but 
into  the  rights  of  the  parties  as  established  by  law,  as  found  in  their 
contracts,  as  recognized  by  the  established  principles  of  equity,  and  to 
decide  accordingly.  Governed  by  this  rule,  and  by  the  intention  of 
the  legislature  in  passing  the  law  under  which  this  suit  is  brought, 
we  concur  with  the  Circuit  Court  in  holding  that  no  case  for  relief  is 
made  by  the  bill,  and  the  decree  of  that  court  dismissing  it  is  accord- 
ingly affirmed."  And  this  was  what  finally  came  of  the  Wilson  com- 
mittee's report. 

In  regard  to  the  Poland  committee,  no  witness  appeared  but 
McComb  himself  to  allege  corrupt  motives  against  Oakes  Ames 
His  testimony  stands  without  support  in  this  particular.  He  pro- 
duced the  letters  written  him  by  Mr.  Ames,  which  were  explanatory 
altogether  and  replies  to  his  own,  and  gave  them  the  only  interpreta- 
tion which  suited  his  now  notorious  purpose. 

On  his  own  part,  Mr.  Ames  denied  ever  having  had  such  conversa- 
tions with  McComb  as  the  latter  testified  to.  He  denied  ever  having 
admitted  to  him  the  things  alleged.  He  asserted  in  the  most  positive 
manner  of  which  he  was  capable  that  he  had  never  entertained  the  de- 
sign of  influencing  legislation  for  the  Pacific  Railroad  by  giving  the 
stock  of  the  construction  company  to  members  of  Congress.  He 
stated  that  whatever  stock  they  had  of  him  he  had  sold  to  them,  as 
he  had  to  others,  when  it  was  below  par,  and  when  it  was  a  difficult 
matter  to  dispose  of  it  at  all ;  and  that  they  purchased  it  solely  on  his 
assurances  that  it  would  pay  them  a  profit,  sooner  or  later.  He  said 
that  such  a  thing  as  corrupting  legislation  was  never  in  his  mind,  and 
his  statement  was  supported  by  the  fact  that  the  road  wanted  no 


22  Memoir. 

further  legislation,  for  it  already  had  all  that  was  necessary.  He  ex- 
plained that  his  letters  to  McComb  were  replies  to  the  letters  of  the 
latter,  containing  inquiries  which  he  simply  sought  to  answer.  And 
in  order,  if  possible,  to  discourage  further  attempts  to  obtain  posses- 
sion of  the  stock  claimed,  he  had  aimed  to  convince  McComb  that 
he  was  doing  only  what  would  result  in  the  common  benefit,  and  not 
merely  in  that  of  himself  personally. 

And  since  the  letters  were  written  for  the  purpose  only  of  satisfying 
McComb,  and  thereby  silencing  his  claim,  they  were  expressed  in 
familiar  and  unguarded  language,  with  no  reference  to  their  ever  being 
made  public  in  any  future  contingency.  They  were  always  written  in 
haste,  when  business  was  urgent,  and  in  the  familiar  strain  in  which 
men  address  one  another  who  are  personally  interested  in  the  same 
enterprise.  He  freely  admitted  that  he  had  sold  the  stock  of  the 
Credit  Mobilier  to  members  of  Congress,  but  he  declared  that  he  sold 
it  for  its  stated  price,  and  befofe  the  rise  in  its  value  took  place. 
This  latter  point  formed  the  pivot  on  which  the  charge  of  bribery 
turned  ;  for  if  he  had  not  sold  the  stock  to  members  of  Congress  for 
less  than  its  value,  he  clearly  could  have  offered  them  nothing  which 
would  furnish  the  least  inducement  for  legislative  action  in  his  favor. 

The  resolution  adopted  by  the  House  empowered  the  committee 
"  to  investigate  and  ascertain  whether  any  member  of  this  House  was 
bribed  by  Oakes  Ames,  or  any  other  person  or  corporation,  in  any 
matter  touching  his  legislative  duty." 

The  committee  finally  reported  as  follows :  "  Whereas,  Mr.  Oakes 
Ames,  a  Representative  in  this  House,  from  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 
has  been  guilty  of  selling  to  members  of  Congress  shares  of  stock  in 
the  Credit  Mobilier  of  America  for  prices  much  below  the  full  value 
of  such  stock,  with  intent  thereby  to  influence  the  votes  and  decisions 
of  such  members  in  matters  to  be  brought  before  Congress  for  action ; 
therefore,  resolved,  that  Mr.  Oakes  Ames  be,  and  he  is  hereby  ex- 
pelled from  his  seat  as  a  member  of  this  House." 

Here  was  clearly  an  attempt  of  a  later  Congress  to  purge  or  pun- 


Memoir.  23 

ish  for  a  former  one,  —  a  thing  unheard  of  till  then.  Before  the  dis- 
cussion on  this  remarkable  report  closed,  brief  and  hurried  as  it  was, 
as  the  last  days  of  the  session  approached,  the  lawyers  in  Congress, 
represented  by  the  House  Judiciary  Committee,  made  a  report  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  report  of  the  investigating  committee,  declaring  that 
Congress  had  no  right  or  power  to  expel  a  member  for  acts  committed 
prior  to  his  election  as  a  member  of  that  body.  This  at  last  induced 
the  House  to  substitute  the  resolution  to  censure  for  the  resolution  to 
expel.  But  the  right  to  do  the  one  was  no  better  laid  than  the  right 
to  do  the  other,  for  a  subsequent  Congress  could  not  take  cognizance 
of  the  actions  of  the  members  of  a  previous  one.  There  is  no  ques- 
tion that  Congress  is  free  at  any  time  to  purge  itself  of  offending  mem- 
bers, the  right  to  expel  being  clearly  implied  in  the  right  to  admit ; 
but  no  offense  committed  by  a  member  of  a  former  Congress  can  be 
imputed  to  a  member  of  a  subsequent  one,  even  though  it  be  the  same 
individual  who  is  a  member  of  both.  Nothing  goes  to  prove  more 
convincingly  that  Congress,  during  the  session  of  1872-73,  was  con- 
fused by  its  fears  and  blinded  by  its  selfishness,  in  committing  an  act 
that  is  no  more  amenable  to  common  sense  than  to  common  justice. 
It  voted  to  censure  a  member  for  what  he  was  alleged  to  have  done 
in  the  past,  before  it  existed  ;  it  would  not  have  been  more  senseless 
to  censure  him  for  something  which  it  apprehended  he  might,  if  he 
should  continue  in  congressional  life,  do  in  the  future. 

The  charge  brought  against  Oakes  Ames  was  bribery.  The  only 
question  at  issue,  then,  is  this  :  Was  the  charge  of  bribery  sustained  ? 
The  committee  itself  says  it  was  not.  All  the  facts  and  circum- 
staces  show  it  was  not.  There  was  nothing  and  no  one  to  sustain  the 
charge  but  Mr.  McComb ;  and  against  his  testimony  was  that  of  the 
accused,  flatly  contradicting  him  at  every  point.  Congress  at  least  had 
no  good  reason  for  preferring  to  believe  the  former  to  the  latter. 

"  In  his  negotiations  with  these  members  of  Congress,"  say  the 
committee,  "  Mr.  Ames  made  no  suggestion  that  he  desired  to  secure 
their  favorable  influence  in  Congress  in  favor  of  the  railroad  company ; 


24  Memoir. 

and  whenever  the  question  was  raised  as  to  whether  the  ownership  of 
this  stock  would  in  any  way  interfere  with,  or  embarrass  them  in, 
their  action  as  members  of  Congress,  he  assured  them  it  would  not." 
And  the  committee  also  say  that  they  "  have  not  been  able  to  find 
that  any  of  these  members  of  Congress  have  been  affected  in  their 
official  action  in  consequence  of  their  interest  in  Credit  Mobilier 
stock."  They  were  obliged  to  admit  this,  even  while  recommending 
his  expulsion  under  the  investigation  of  the  charge  of  bribery ;  and 
this  was  the  gist  of  the  whole  matter.  So  that,  while  finding  Oakes 
Ames  not  guilty  of  the  charge  preferred  against  him,  they  found  that 
he  deserved  expulsion  the  same  as  if  he  were. 

That  is  all  the  logic  or  sense  there  is  to  be  found  in  this  most  re- 
markable of  reports  from  a  congressional  investigating  committee. 
It  was  punishment  without  guilt ;  nay,  worse,  it  was  punishment  in- 
flicted by  the  judge  aftef  admitting  the  innocence  of  the  accused. 
Such  a  maze  of  conflicting,  unreasonable,  and  cowardly  feelings  as 
led  to  a  result  otherwise  so  unaccountable,  is  not  to  be  threaded  either 
by  analysis  or  conjecture.  A  verdict  of  this  sort  stands  against  those 
who  find  it  rather  than  against  the  one  sought  to  be  overcome. 

Not  only  were  the  committee  unable  to  discover  any  act  of  bribery, 
but  the  facts  and  circumstances  all  render  it  impossible.  Even  if 
the  verdict  had  been  otherwise  in  this  respect,  it  would  not  stand 
unsupported  by  the  facts;  the  two  certainly  cannot  contradict  one 
another.  And  the  pivotal,  the  vital,  fact  in  this  accusation  is  the  one 
that  relates  to  the  date  of  the  sale  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  to  mem- 
bers of  Congress.  If  it  could  be  made  to  appear  that  the  stock  was 
sold  them  below  par  after  it  had  greatly  appreciated,  that  would  be 
the  end  of  it;  there  could  be  no  more  defense.  But  it  appeared  that 
all  the  contracts  made  by  Mr.  Ames  with  members  for  selling  them 
the  stock  were  made  prior  to  any  dividends  being  declared,  and  on 
his  personal  assurance  only  that  the  investment  would  be  a  profitable 
one.  As  for  the  allegation  of  McComb  that  the  stock  was  given  to 
members,  that  never  received  serious  attention  from  any  side.  The 


Memoir.  25 

testimony  of  those  who  took  it  was  decisive  on  that  point.  It  is  there- 
fore of  the  first  importance  to  know  when  the  sales  to  members  were 
actually  made. 

All  who  had  the  stock  testified  to  having  purchased  it  immediately 
after  the  opening  of  Congress  in  the  session  of  1867-68.  That  was 
before  it  had  reached  par.  The  first  dividend  was  declared  on  the 
12th  of  December,  1867,  and  paid  January  3,  1868.  It  was  that 
dividend  which  gave  an  impetus  to  its  market  value.  Now  when  did 
Congress  actually  assemble  that  winter  ?  Ordinarily  it  would  have 
been  on  the  first  Monday  in  December.  But  there  was  an  adjourn- 
ment of  the  former  session  from  a  late  day  in  the  summer  to  the  21st 
day  of  November.  The  adjourned  session  thus  ran  into  the  regular  or 
short  session,  and  to  all  intents  became  a  part  of  it.  So  that,  by  the 
testimony  of  the  purchasing  members  themselves,  it  was  during  the 
latter  part  of  November  and  the  early  days  of  December  that  Mr. 
Ames  held  his  conversations  with  them  respecting  the  purchase  of  the 
stock.  Not  one  of  them  testified  that  he  had  bought  it  after  the  first 
dividend  was  declared.  Mr.  Ames  likewise  charged  all  of  them  inter- 
est on  the  stock  at  its  par  value  from  the  July  previous.  This  little 
circumstance  alone  disposes  of  every  suggestion  of  bribery,  and  goes 
to  prove  both  a  sale  and  the  price.  For  who,  it  may  be  asked,  ever 
before  thought  of  taking  interest  on  a  bribe  ?  Or  what  person  sought 
to  be  corrupted  ever  before  consented  to  pay  it  ? 

It  is  a  remarkably  singular  circumstance  that  all  parties  should  have 
entirely  forgotten  the  fact  of  this  extraordinary  adjournment  of  Con- 
gress in  1867,  owing  to  the  political  excitement  of  that  period.  It  was 
never  alluded  to  in  the  testimony  either  of  Mr.  Ames  himself  or  of 
the  members  involved ;  which  also  goes  to  show  how  much  a  matter  of 
the  past,  in  relation  to  the  Congress  of  1872-73,  the  whole  transaction 
was.  Had  this  single  fact  been  recalled  while  the  investigation  was 
pending,  it  would  have  fixed  the  question  of  the  stock's  value  at  the 
time  of  its  sale  beyond  further  dispute.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
the  stock  was  offered  freely  at  par,  after  the  opening  of  the  adjourned 


26  Memoir. 

session  on  the  21st  of  November,  and  there  were  few  or  no  buyers, 
and  it  was  sold  at  less  than  par,  at  that. 

The  testimony  is  unvarying  that  it  was  before  there  was  any  rise 
in  its  value  that  the  stock  was  sold  to  members  of  Congress,  and  at  a 
time  when  it  could  not  be  sold  at  par  in  the  market.  Mr.  Ames 
offered  it  as  a  good  investment  only,  and  they  took  it  because,  and 
only  because,  they  confided  in  his  integrity  and  superior  business  judg- 
ment. They  took  it  at  par  and  interest  from  July.  He  did  not 
promise  them  any  dividends,  for  at  that  time  it  could  not  be  foretold 
when  one  would  be  declared.  It  was  all  indefinite,  and  the  situa- 
tion was  a  wholly  speculative  one.  There  was  a  strong  opposition  to 
making  the  first  dividend  at  the  time  it  was  declared  ;  and  not  for 
some  time  afterwards  was  there  an  upward  movement  in  the  stock. 

Then  it  was  that  Mr.  Ames  called  on  the  Credit  Mobilier  Company 
to  issue  to  him  the  stock  which  he  had  thus  agreed  to  deliver,  and  for 
which  he  had  long  before  paid  the  cash  from  his  own  pocket.  It  was 
with  this  issue,  and  this  delivery  according  to  contract,  the  McComb 
trouble  began,  after  a  dividend  had  finally  given  an  impetus  to  the 
market  value  of  the  stock.  The  motive  was  selfishness,  and  the 
means  were  misrepresentation.  The  letters  of  Mr.  Ames  to  McComb 
about  this  time  were  merely  an  explanation  in  answer  to  the  latter's 
demands,  as  has  before  been  stated. 

The  stock  was  issued  to  Mr.  Ames  because  he  had  paid  for  it ;  and 
he  delivered  it  as  he  had  agreed  to  do.  He  delivered  it  after  it  had 
begun  to  appreciate,  when  it  was  worth  much  more  than  when  he 
sold  it.  Would  any  but  a  truly  honest  man  have  done  such  a  thing  ? 
Was  a  man  who  did  do  it  the  one  to  offer  bribes,  even  allowing  that 
they  could  be  made  serviceable ;  which,  in  his  case  they  notoriously 
could  not,  and,  according  to  the  report  of  the  investigating  commit- 
tee, they  certainly  were  not  ? 

The  testimony  of  the  inculpated  members  was  read  as  it  appeared 
with  excited  interest  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  The 
reputations  of  a  number  of  leading  public  men  were  involved,  but  it 


Memoir.  27 

is  now  apparent  that  they  would  not  have  been  if  they  had  not  them- 
selves displayed  the  timidity  which  gave  rise  to  the  popular  suspicions 
of  guilt.  Their  solicitude  to  cover  up  or  deny  their  transactions  natu- 
rally created  the  impression  that  the  transactions  themselves  were 
wrong.  No  wrong  would  have  been  imputed  but  for  this.  It  might 
have  been  charged  that  they  had  been  guilty  of  an  indiscretion,  or 
even  an  impropriety,  but  no  one  would  have  thought  of  going  further 
than  this  against  them. 

But  if  there  was  fault,  it  was  not  that  of  Oakes  Ames  altogether. 
As  soon  as  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  began  to  rise  in  value,  he  was 
besieged  by  members  who  claimed  that  they  had  previously  agreed  to 
take  it  of  him,  and  now  demanded  its  delivery.  Many  of  them  never 
would  have  come  to  him  for  it  at  all  but  for  its  rapid  appreciation. 
They  had  been  offered  opportunities  to  take  it,  but  the  only  answer 
they  made  was  that  "  they  would  see."  This  pressure  of  claims 
placed  Mr.  Ames  in  a  position  in  which  he  found  it  difficult  to  decide 
what  to  do,  and  still  not  prejudice  the  standing  of  the  company  and 
the  road.  He  bad,  therefore,  to  draw  the  line  between  such  engage- 
ments as  were  known  to  be  positive  and  those  which  were  uncertain 
and  contingent.  It  was  this  state  of  things  with  him  that  must  sup- 
ply the  interpretation  to  at  least  his  first  letter  to  McComb,  which 
aimed  to  show  the  latter  that  the  writer  was  not  favoring  himself  or 
any  particular  section  of  the  country  in  his  distribution.  He  wrote 
thus :  "  You  say  I  must  not  put  too  much  in  one  locality.  I  have 
assigned,  as  far  as  I  have  gone,  to  four  from  Massachusetts,  one  from 
New  Hampshire,  one  Delaware,  one  Tennessee,  one  Ohio,  two  Penn- 
sylvania, one  Indiana,  one  Maine,  and  I  have  three  to  place,  which  I 
shall  place  where  they  will  do  most  good  to  us."  McComb  had  com- 
plained that  Mr.  Ames  might  have  disposed  of  the  stock  among  his 
own  personal  friends,  and  the  latter  sought  to  satisfy  him  that  he  had 
distributed  it  in  a  way  to  represent,  so  far  as  possible,  the  entire  coun- 
try. His  language  was  that  he  had  "  assigned  "  it.  He  was  a  man 
who  used  plain  words,  and  sought  for  nothing  more  than  to  convey  his 


28  Memoir. 

real  meaning.  When  he  employed  the  term  "  assigned,"  he  merely 
intended  to  say  that  he  had  decided  to  divide  up  the  stock  as  after- 
wards described,  and  primarily  with  a  view  to  having  the  influential 
men  of  all  sections  alike  feel  a  personal  interest  in  the  road;  and 
such  men  were  the  Representatives  in  Congress.  The  three  thousand, 
which  he  said  he  should  "  place  where  they  will  do  most  good  to  us," 
he  contemplated  such  a  disposition  of  as  would  benefit  McComb's 
interest  in  the  Pacific  road  equally  with  his  own.  This  free  and  un- 
guarded style  of  expression  in  a  business  matter  is  the  very  best 
evidence  of  honesty,  and  cannot  justly  be  interpreted  at  variance  with 
the<recognized  character  of  the  writer. 

Respecting  the  question  of  the  purchase  of  stock  of  such  a  char- 
acter by  members  of  Congress,  little  need  be  said ;  but  the  occasion 
justifies  the  production,  in  this  place,  of  the  statement  of  at  least  one 
member,  which  is  taken  from  the  Poland  committee  report.  He 
says,  "  I  had  no  idea  of  wrong  in  the  matter.  Nor  do  I  now 
see  how  it  concerns  the  public.  No  one  connected  with  either  the 
Credit  Mobilier  or  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  ever  directly  or 
indirectly  expressed,  or  in  any  way  hinted,  that  my  services  as  a 
member  of  Congress  were  expected  in  behalf  of  either  corporation, 
in  consideration  of  the  stock  I  obtained,  and  certainly  no  such  ser- 
vices were  ever  rendered.  I  was  much  less  embarrassed,  as  a  member - 
of  Congress,  by  the  ownership  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock  than  I  should 
have  been  had  I  owned  stock  in  a  national  bank,  or  in  an  iron  fur- 
nace, or  a  woolen-mill,  or  even  been  a  holder  of  government  bonds ; 
for  there  was  important  legislation,  while  I  was  in  Congress,  affecting 
all  these  interests,  but  no  legislation  whatever  concerning  the  Credit 
Mobilier.  I  can  therefore  find  nothing  in  my  conduct  in  that  regard 
to  regret.  It  was,  in  my  judgment,  both  honest  and  honorable,  and 
consistent  with  my  position  as  a  member  of  Congress  ;  and  as  the 
investment  turned  out  to  be  profitable,  my  only  regret  is  that  it  was 
no  larger  in  amount." 

There  was  no  disgrace  attached  to  a  statement  like  this  ;  if  all  the 


Memoir.  29 

rest  had  made  a  similar  one  there  could  have  been  no  cause  for  scan- 
dal ;  and  it  manifestly  is  the  essence  of  injustice  to  make  one  man, 
who  has  committed  no  fault,  bear  the  burden  which  others  would 
properly  have  to  carry  for  themselves.  If  he  might  build  the  Pacific 
Railroad,  though  a  member  of  Congress,  what  could  make  it  any 
more  questionable  for  them  as  his  copartners  and  cooperators  ? 

The  debate  that  followed,  to  the  final  substitution  of  the  resolution 
of  censure  for  that  of  expulsion,  was  compressed  into  a  space  of  time 
unjustly  disproportioned  to  the  gravity  of  such  action  as  was  pro- 
posed. But  the  session  was  to  end  on  the  4th  of  March,  and  with 
it  the  ten  years'  congressional  career  of  Oakes  Ames  terminated  also. 
Many  of  the  leading  members  and  the  most  impressive  speakers  par- 
ticipated in  the  debate.  The  evidence  accompanying  the  report  of  the 
investigating  committee  was  too  voluminous  for  any  one  to  read  with 
care  and  mentally  digest ;  hence  the  debate  became  more  dramatic 
in  its  spirit  than  judicial,  and  was  not  greatly  calculated  to  advance 
the  cause  of  justice  reasonably  and  dispassionately.  The  House  ap- 
peared far  more  anxious  to  emerge  from  the  cloud  it  found  itself 
involved  in  than  to  decide  rightly  on  a  question  of  punishment  where 
no  guilt  could  be  demonstrated.  The  speakers  were  many  of  them 
eloquent  and  forcible,  but  the  common  reason  had  been  dethroned  for 
the  time  by  the  panic  wrought  by  political  clamor,  and  safety  was 
eagerly  sought  at  the  cost  of  justice  and  truth.  To  this  day,  there 
has  never  been  heard  a  voluntary  defender  of  the  action  of  Congress 
at  that  time.  It  is  recorded  but  to  excite  the  universal  wish  that  it 
might  be  forgotten. 

We  shall  proceed  to  recite  the  leading  points  of  two  of  the  ablest 
and  most  impressive  of  the  speeches  delivered  on  the  floor  in  defense 
of  Mr.  Ames.  They  are  that  the  committee  only  apprehended  that 
there  might  be  in  the  future,  in  some  indefinable  shape  which  could 
not  be  anticipated,  some  legislation  proposed  or  done,  which  would  be 
hostile  to  the  Pacific  road  ;  and  Mr.  Ames  so  desired  to  interest  mem- 
bers of  Congress  as  to  stimulate  their  activity  and  attract  their  atten- 


30  Memoir. 

tion  to  the  subject.  The  alleged  intention  of  Mr.  Ames  to  influence 
the  members  who  purchased  this  Credit  Mobilier  stock  was  in  no 
instance  communicated  to  them  ;  whenever  they  asked  if  the  owner- 
ship of  this  stock  would  in  any  way  interfere  with  or  embarrass  them 
in  their  action  as  members  of  Congress,  he  assured  them  it  would  not. 
The  committee  did  not  find  that  members  had  any  other  purpose  in 
taking  the  stock  than  to  make  a  profitable  investment.  They  were 
not  able  to  find  that  any  of  these  members  of  Congress  were  affected 
in  their  official  action  by  their  interest  in  the  stock.  Mr.  Ames  was 
not  charged  with  urging  any  one  to  take  the  stock ;  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  proved  that  several  members  who  did  take  it  themselves 
made  the  first  advance,  either  by  asking  his  advice  about  an  advanta- 
geous investment,  or  in  some  other  way  that  finally  led  to  their 
purchasing  it. 

The  actual  statement  of  the  committee,  then,  is  briefly  this : 
first,  that  he  bribed  his  friends ;  second,  that  they  did  not  know  they 
were  bribed ;  third,  that  they  were  not  affected  by  the  bribe ;  and, 
fourth,  that  neither  he  nor  the  persons  bribed  knew  what  those  per- 
sons were  to  do,  or  to  abstain  from  doing,  in  consideration  of  the 
bribes.  Yet  he  is  found  guilty  of  bribery  because  he  made  these  sales 
of  stock.  One  person  alone  can  no  more  commit  bribery  than  one 
person  can  commit  a  conspiracy ;  it  takes  two  parties  to  do  it.  Nor 
can  there  be  bribery  unless  the  person  bribed  is  to  do  or  to  abstain 
from  doing  something.  It  is  absurd,  the  idea  that  a  member  may 
bribe  a  fellow  member  of  Congress  by  making  him  a  present  or  doing 
him  a  favor,  without  in  any  way  notifying  the  latter  what  he  expects 
him  to  do  or  not  to  do,  but  that  he  is  only  apprehensive  that  at  some 
indefinite  time  in  the  future  something  may  occur  which  may  preju- 
dice his  interest,  when  he  may  need  the  assistance  of  his  friend. 

A  man  does  not  usually  bribe  his  friends,  those  who  are  already 
committed  to  his  side  of  the  case  and  in  favor  of  his  interest.  Bribes 
are  given  to  men  to  convert  them,  to  change  them.  They  are 
offered  to  those  who  are  disinclined,  in  order  to  prevail  on  them  to  do 


Memoir.  31 

what  the  briber  desires  them  to  do.  The  committee  say  in  their  re- 
port that  all  these  parties  who  invested  in  this  stock  were  already  the 
friends  of  this  railroad  company.  Mr.  Oakes  Ames  is  an  old  man  ;  a 
self-made  man  of  character,  of  reputation  beyond  impeachment  wher- 
ever he  has  been  known ;  a  man  of  large  enterprise,  of  great  wealth, 
but  whose  fortune  has  been  carved  out  by  himself ;  a  man  who 
shouldered  a  responsibility  which  no  other  man  in  the  country  could 
be  found  to  shoulder ;  a  man  who  embarked  in  a  great  enterprise, 
from  which  other  men  and  capitalists  shrank,  his  entire  private  for- 
tune. 

He  has  been  a  member  of  Congress  for  many  years,  and  what  new 
thing  has  he  done  that  was  not  known  to  all  before  ?  What  has 
transpired  during  this  Congress,  in  relation  to  the  doings  of  Mr.  Oakes 
Ames,  that  was  not  sufficiently  patent  years  ago  ?  Everybody  in 
Congress  and  out  of  it,  who  knew  anything  about  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad,  knew  of  the  existence  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  —  knew  that 
Mr.  Oakes  Ames  held  that  stock,  and  it  was  said  he  was  making  large 
profits.  What  new  thing,  what  new  iniquity,  what  crime,  should 
make  all  this  excitement?  Is  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock  any  more 
wicked  and  iniquitous  now  than  it  was  four  years  ago  ?  We  all  knew 
he  held  it  then,  and  it  was  allowed  to  pass ;  but  now,  when  he  is  within 
seven  days  of  bidding  good-by  to  this  hall,  when  he  is  within  one 
week  of  taking  his  final  departure  from  Congress,  it  is  proposed,  in 
the  very  last  days  of  his  political  and  congressional  life,  to  expel  him. 
For  what  ?  For  selling  Credit  Mobilier  stock  which  he  held  years 
ago,  and  which  we  all  knew  at  that  time  that  he  owned. 

Oakes  Ames,  said  the  other  speaker,  is  a  man  so  truthful  that  to 
save  himself  he  would  not  tell  a  lie,  when  the  committee  now  say  if 
he  would  only  lie  he  would  be  safe.  We  have  not  the  right,  consti- 
tutional or  legal,  to  expel  any  member  for  a  crime  alleged  to  have 
been  committed  by  him  five  years  ago,  before  his  election  to  this 
House.  Besides,  the  laws  provide  for  the  punishment  of  crime.  At 
the  hour  when  nearly  one  half  of  this  Union  was  struggling  to  over- 


32  Memoir. 

throw  the  other,  when  the  earth  resounded  to  the  tramp  of  armed 
men  in  the  field,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  our  fortunes,  Oakes  Ames 
came  forward,  and  placed  down  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  as  his 
subscription,  to  send  the  railroad  across  the  continent  that  should 
hold  the  East  and  West  together,  because  he  had  seen  the  North  and 
South  struggling  to  separate.  It  may  have  been  done  from  motives 
of  patriotism  or  motives  of  gain.  He  trusted  his  country's  future,  and 
his  act  was  patriotic ;  and  if  to  do  good  to  his  country  and  mankind 
was  his  motive,  he  did  well,  and  no  man  has  the  right  or  the  power 
to  say  it  was  not  well. 

If  there  is  a  man  in  the  House  who  will  rise  in  his  place  and  say 
that  he  does  not  in  his  heart  believe  Oakes  Ames  is  an  honest  and 
truthful  man,  he  is  yet  to  be  discovered.  Every  one  believes  sub- 
stantially every  word  of  his  testimony.  The  committee  itself  has  cer- 
tified to  its  truth.  He  kept  debit  and  credit  with  those  who  allowed 
him  to  be  the  trustee  of  their  property  in  his  simple  way,  but  kept  it 
with  an  accuracy  that  shows  more  of  truthful  honesty  than  the  ac- 
count-books of  the  most  resplendent  counting-room  in  the  land. 

His  own  story  is  that  he  was  brought  into  this  Pacific  Railroad 
after  a  great  deal  of  persuasion,  when  all  other  capitalists  faltered, 
with  his  brother ;  and  that  they  then  went  forward  with  the  enter- 
prise, asking  for  no  legislation  in  behalf  of  the  road,  and  expecting 
none.  The  legislation  providing  for  the  subrogation  of  the  bonds  of 
the  United  States  to  those  of  the  road  was  had  in  1864,  before  the 
Ameses  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  He  took  stock  in  the  road,  and 
he  agreed  with  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  country  to  go  into  a  cor- 
poration for  the  purpose  of  building  this  road,  foreseeing  that  its  mag- 
nitude might  swamp  any  individual  contractor.  They  tried  Mr. 
Hoxie  on  three  hundred  and  twenty-seven  of  the  easiest  miles  of  the 
road,  and  he  failed  to  carry  out  his  contract ;  and  they  organized  the 
Credit  Mobilier  to  construct  the  remainder. 

Holding  the  stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  merely  is  not  to  be  al- 
leged against  him,  as  a  crime.  He  made  no  concealments  of  his  part 


Memoir.  33 

in  it.  In  186T  and  1868,  everybody  in  Congress  knew  that  he,  a 
member  of  Congress  also,  was  a  holder  of  that  stock.  His  constitu- 
ents all  knew  it.  Instead  of  seeking  to  conceal  anything,  he  became 
the  recipient  of  unstinted  praise  for  his  great  enterprise  and  public 
spirit.  His  financial  judgment  was  trusted  and  confided  in.  His  ad- 
vice was  asked  and  followed  in  investment  matters,  and  none  thought 
of  wrong.  There  was  no  guile  in  him.  He  embarked  his  all  in  this 
undertaking,  and  before  he  was  done  it  broke  him  down.  The 
catastrophe  he  might  have  apprehended  was  just  what  inspired  him 
to  interest  certain  men,  then  in  Congress  and  out  of  it,  in  the  stock, 
that  they  might  be  watchful  to  see  that  no  wrong  was  done  to  the 
road,  and  through  the  road  to  the  government.  And  for  this  he  is 
charged  with  bribery.  Nevertheless,  the  committee  expressly  declare 
that  nobody  was  bribed  by  Oakes  Ames. 

"I  have  known  him  long  and  well,"  the  speaker  concluded.  "I 
have  known  him  when  he  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Governor 
Andrew,  and  aided  him  in  troops  to  save  the  country.  He  went  for- 
ward side  by  side  with  the  illustrious  War-Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
in  those  great  measures  which  filled  our  armies  and  carried  on  our 
war,  trusted,  honored,  and  beloved.  I  have  known  him  since.  I  have 
seen  him  when  bankruptcy  and  ruin  fell  upon  him  because  he  had 
taken  part  in  this  great  national  work.  I  have  seen  him  crushed 
down  to  earth  with  obligations  and  debts  not  incurred  for  himself,  but 
in  the  service  of  his  country ;  and  yet  such  was  the  force  of  his  hon- 
esty and  integrity  of  character  that  each  and  all  of  his  creditors  gave 
him  extension  of  credit,  and  every  one  has  been  paid  to  the  uttermost 
farthing.  It  is  to  his  credit  that  he  had  to  absent  himself  from  your 
committee  while  investigating  his  honesty,  to  go  home  and  do  the 
last  act  of  an  honest  man  by  paying  up  the  last  dollar  of  his  extended 
debt.  Such  is  Oakes  Ames." 

During  the  excitement  of  the  canvass  of  the  previous  autumn, 
though  not  a  candidate  himself,  Mr.  Ames  issued  an  explanatory  cir- 
cular to  his  constituents,  which  deserves  mention  in  this  particular 


34  Memoir. 

place.  He  openly  styled  the  charges  of  bribery  *'  infamous."  He 
said  they  were  made  against  him  and  some  of  his  associates  in  Con- 
gress "  by  Henry  S.  McComb,  in  a  suit  against  the  Credit  Mobilier, 
in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  money 
wrongfully  from  the  company,  —  as  every  one  of  the  stockholders  be- 
lieved then  and  believes  now.  All  the  executive  officers  of  the  com- 
pany and  several  of  its  largest  stockholders,  including  myself,  have 
answered  in  said  suit,  long  since,  under  oath,  that  the  charges  were 
entirely  false ;  that  not  a  single  share  of  the  stock  of  that  company 
was  ever  given  to  any  member  of  Congress,  directly  or  indirectly,  by 
me  or  any  one  else,  to  my  knowledge.  I  now  reiterate  and  reaffirm 
the  statement,  with  the  further  declaration  that  I  never  gave  a  share 
of  stock  of  that  or  any  other  company,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  any 
member  of  Congress.  These  sworn  statements  of  myself  and  these 
other  gentlemen,  made  and  filed  in  the  same  suit,  lying  side  by  side 
in  the  same  record,  could  have  been  published  with  the  charges,  had 
it  suited  the  political  purposes  of  the  '  New  York  Sun.'  I  am  will- 
ing to  set  the  sworn  declaration  of  any  one  of  these  individuals,  of 
the  highest  character  and  reputation,  against  the  affidavit  of  McComb, 
wherever  he  is  well  known,  with  no  fear  of  an  adverse  opinion  of  the 
integrity  of  any  one  of  them  as  against  him.  And  the  list  of  names 
given  by  McComb,  as  indorsed  on  my  letter  and  published,  was 
written  by  himself,  as  he  stated  when  under  oath  at  the  hearing  in 
Pennsylvania.  He  had  no  authority  from  me  for  making  any  such 
statement." 

Mr.  Ames  further  said  that  he  did  not  own  a  share  of  stock  in  the 
Pacific  Railroad  until  1866 ;  and  that  "  this  charge,  that  a  distribu- 
tion of  the  stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  in  1868  bribed  members  of 
Congress  to  procure  the  passage  of  an  act  in  1864,  is  too  absurd  to 
be  credited."  "  I  may  have  done  wrong,"  he  added,  "  in  my  efforts 
to  aid  this  great  national  enterprise  ;  if  so,  I  am  unconscious  of  it.  I 
have  always  regarded  it  as  among  the  most  creditable  and  patriotic 
acts  of  my  life." 


Memoir.  35 

These  extracts  from  his  circular  in  the  autumn  before  fitly  introduce 
his  defense  before  the  House,  when  he  confronted  the  accusing  com- 
mittee in  the  presence  of  that  body.  The  latter  was  a  calm,  compre- 
hensive, well-considered  statement  of  the  whole  matter,  and  was  read 
with  great  impressiveness  of  delivery  by  the  clerk.  Narrative,  argu- 
ment, and  appeal  are  welded  together  in  it  as  in  the  forge  of  a  large 
and  strong  mind.  It  was,  of  course,  the  speech  of  the  session. 

He  laid  before  the  House  a  detailed  history  of  the  construction  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  which  has  already  been  recited  in  outline 
to  the  reader.  He  asserted  at  the  outset  that  "it  was  universally 
esteemed  not  only  a  measure  of  sound  policy,  but  a  scheme  appealing 
to  the  patriotism  and  loyalty  of  the  capitalists  of  the  United  States, 
as  the  instrument  whereby  a  future  separation  of  the  Pacific  from  the 
Atlantic  States  would  be  rendered  forever  impossible."  The  two  acts 
of  Congress  in  1862  and  1864  are  described  in  all  their  provisions. 
The  two  roads  are  sketched  as  running  a  race  across  the  continent, 
each  building  five  hundred  miles  in  a  single  season,  "  through  a  desert 
country,  upon  a  route  beset  by  unparalleled  obstacles,  and  at  a  neces- 
sary cost  largely  in  excess  of  the  most  extravagant  estimates."  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  is  described  as  "urgent  that  Congress  should  not  withhold 
the  additional  assistance  asked,"  and  as  "  personally  advising  the 
officers  of  the  company  to  go  to  Congress  for  such  legislation  as  would 
assure  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  declaring  it  a  national  necessity, 
and  recommending  them  to  apply  for  additional  concessions,  ample  to 
place  the  construction  of  the  road  beyond  a  peradventure." 

He  recited  the  history  of  the  different  contracts,  and  their  succes- 
sive failures ;  showed  how  a  construction  company  came  to  take  it  up ; 
detailed  the  all  but  crushing  obstacles  to  its  progress ;  and  stated  the 
facts  of  his  first  connection  with  the  company,  of  his  contract,  and  its 
subsequent  assignment.  The  peculiar  state  of  affairs  during  1867 
was  briefly  portrayed.  The  company,  he  explained,  had  no  reason  to 
apprehend  unfriendly  or  hostile  legislation  :  every  department  of  the 
government  manifested  friendliness ;  and  "  the  whole  country  was 


36  Memoir. 

loud  in  demonstrations  of  approval  of  the  energy  and  activity 
which  we  had  infused  into  the  enterprise."  "  Heads  of  departments 
and  government  officials  of  every  grade,  whose  duties  brought  them, 
in  contact  with  the  affairs  of  the  company,  were  clamorous  for  in- 
creased speed  of  construction,  and  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
pressing approval  of  the  work,  and  urging  it  forward."  He  said  it 
had  never  entered  his  head  that  the  company  would  ask  for  or  need 
additional  legislation ;  and  a  public  man  would  have  been  reckless 
of  popular  opinion  who  would  have  started  a  crusade  against  an  or- 
ganization —  meaning  the  Credit  Mobilier  construction  company  — 
"  whose  praises  everywhere  filled  the  press,  and  were  on  the  lips 
of  the  people." 

He  showed  that  no  legislation  affecting  the  company's  interests  was 
asked  for  three  years  and  a  half  after  the  sales  of  the  stock  by  him  ; 
and  then  it  was  only  in  settlement  of  a  purely  judicial  question,  which 
was  designedly  sprung  upon  it  in  a  critical  time  of  the  road's  for- 
tunes. Describing  the  difficulties  of  the  work  as  it  proceeded,  he  said 
it  might  well  be  regarded  as  the  "  freak  of  a  madman,"  if  it  were  not 
true  that  it  challenged  the  recognition  of  a  higher  motive,  namely,  "  the 
desire  to  connect  my  name  conspicuously  with  the  greatest  public  work 
of  the  present  century."  He  comes  then  to  the  charge  of  bribery  that 
had  been  brought  against  him.  If  it  were  true,  he  said  it  must  rest  on 
three  facts,  all  of  which  should  be  satisfactorily  shown  in  order  to  jus- 
tify the  extreme  measures  proposed  by  the  committee :  First,  the  stock 
must  have  been  sold  so  much  below  its  true  value  as  to  conclusively 
"  presume  the  expectation  of  some  other  pecuniary  advantage  in  ad- 
dition to  the  price  paid."  Second,  the  stock  must  have  been  of  a 
character  to  create  in  the  purchaser  and  holder  "  a  corrupt  purpose 
to  shape  legislation  in  the  interest  of  the  seller."  Third,  some  dis- 
tinct and  specific  matter  or  thing  should  be  alleged  and  proved,  which 
was  to  be  brought  before  Congress,  and  on  which  the  votes  of  mem- 
bers were  sought  to  be  influenced.  Each  one  of  these  facts,  essential 
to  prove  bribery,  he  elaborately  and  effectively  confronted  with  argu- 


Memoir.  '  37 

ment  and  disproof.  He  showed  that  railroad  men  of  great  financial 
strength  declined  instantly  to  take  the  stock  when  offered  them  at 
par,  on  account  of  the  enormous  risks.  That  was  proved  to  the  com- 
mittee itself.  He  demonstrated,  from  every  one  of  and  from  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  that  the  ownership  of  the  stock  by  no  means 
necessarily  created  in  the  holder  a  personal  and  pecuniary  interest  in 
procuring  favorable  legislation  by  Congress ;  when  the  Oakes  Ames 
contract  was  completed,  "  the  interest  of  a  holder  of  Credit  Mobilier 
stock  in  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  and  everything  per- 
taining to  it,  was  at  an  end."  In  other  words,  "  the  stipulations  of 
that  contract  and  the  cash  profits  derivable  therefrom  were  the  end 
and  the  beginning,  the  centre  and  circumference,  the  absolute  meas- 
ure of  the  pecuniary  interest  of  a  holder  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock  in 
1868." 

He  suggested  the  parallel  inquiry,  How  many  railroad  presidents 
and  superintendents  had  given  free  transportation  to  members  of 
Congress  over  their  respective  roads  ?  The  case,  he  insisted,  was  not 
affected  by  the  dimensions  and  value  of  the  gratuity. 

"For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  any  tribunal,"  said  he,  "  this 
body  has  before  it  an  alleged  offender  without  an  offense."  He  said 
he  stood  charged  by  the  committee  with  the  purpose  of  corrupting 
certain  members  of  Congress,  while  it  declares  them  to  have  been  un- 
conscious of  his  purpose,  and  does  not,  either,  indicate  the  subject  of 
the  corruption.  The  purpose  to  corrupt  is  inferred,  where  the  effect 
of  corrupting  could  not  possibly  be  produced,  and  where  no  subject 
for  corruption  existed. 

The  question  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  House  was  briefly  touched, 
the  theory  of  a  "  continuing  offense  "  being  critically  analyzed.  He 
examined  the  letters  written  to  McComb,  to  show  that  it  was  entirely 
impossible  to  infer  from  them  the  motives  attributed  to  him  by  the 
committee.  He  showed  that  he  secured  his  share  of  the  Credit  Mo- 
bilier stock,  of  which  McComb  did  not  complain  till  after  it  began  to 
be  valuable,  in  order  to  fulfill  his  contracts  of  sale  to  others.  "  It 


38  Memoir. 

would  have  been  a  breach  of  faith  in  me,"  he  asserted,  "to  have 
asked  or  taken  a  price  in  excess  of  the  par  value,  notwithstanding  it 
may  have,  in  the  mean  time,  advanced."  In  performing  the  obliga- 
tions he  had  incurred,  he  said  that  "  no  distinction  was  made  between 
members  of  Congress  and  unofficial  friends  ; "  he  sold  the  stock  to 
both  alike  at  its  par  value,  in  accordance  with  the  agreement.  And 
when  McComb  objected  to  his  receiving  so  large  an  amount,  and  en- 
tered upon  a  struggle  to  prevent  it,  he  said  he  "  naturally  addressed 
to  him  such  arguments  and  considerations  as  in  his  [my]  judgment 
would  make  the  deepest  impression  on  his  mind."  Inasmuch  as  they 
both  had  a  common  interest  in  the  prosperity  and  success  of  the  road, 
he  urged  upon  McComb  that  he  had  "  so  disposed  of  the  stock  as  to 
enhance  the  general  strength  and  influence  of  the  company,  for  whose 
welfare  his  solicitude  was  not  less  than  my  own." 

He  demanded  that  his  letters  to  McComb  should  be  "  tried  by  the 
test  of  casual  and  confidential  letters,  often  written  hastily,  and  under 
circumstances  and  surroundings  entirely  different  from  those  in  the 
light  of  which  they  are  interpreted."  They  were  "  framed  for  a  spe- 
cific purpose  and  to  accomplish  a  particular  end."  Their  "  collateral 
and  incidental  bearings  were  not  reflected  upon  and  deliberately 
weighed."  They  were  "  flung  off  hastily  in  the  instant  press  of  busi- 
ness and  the  freedom  of  that  personal  confidence  ordinarily  existing 
between  parties  jointly  concerned  in  financial  schemes  or  enterprises 
of  public  improvement."  Few  are  the  men,  he  declared,  who  could 
emerge  from  such  an  ordeal  completely  free  from  the  suspicion  of 
fault. 

He  declared,  therefore,  "  in  the  broadest  sense  of  which  language 
is  capable,"  that  he  had  no  other  views  than  the  ones  named,  in 
writing  those  letters  ;  that  never  did  he  imagine  for  an  instant  "  that 
from  them  could  be  extracted  proof  of  the  motive  and  purpose  of  cor- 
rupting members  of  Congress ;  "  and  that  he  never  entertained  such. 
He  alluded  to  "  the  insignificant  amounts  of  stock  "  sold  to  each  mem- 
ber with  whom  he  had  dealings ;  to  the  proven  fact  that  he  never 


Memoir.  39 

urged  its  purchase ;  to  the  entire  want  of  secrecy  in  all  the  transac- 
tions. He  referred  in  justice  to  the  record  of  his  past  life,  spent  "  in 
the  prosecution  of  business  pursuits,  honorable  to  himself  and  useful 
to  mankind  ;  "  to  his  reputation,  "  hitherto  without  stain  :  "  all  which, 
he  protested,  should  "  overcome  and  outweigh  charges  solely  upheld 
by  the  unconsidered  and  unguarded  utterances  of  confidential  business 
communications." 

The  profits  of  construction  had  been  immensely  exaggerated.  The 
actual  cost  of  building  the  road  was  about  seventy  million  dollars ; 
the  actual  profit  on  this  expenditure  less  than  ten  million,  estimating 
the  securities  and  stock  at  their  market  value  when  received  in  pay- 
ment. For  twenty  years  the  ordinary  method  of  building  railroads 
had  been  through  construction  companies ;  few  had  been  built  in  any 
other  way.  A  profit  even  of  fifty  per  cent,  on  the  Union  Pacific  con- 
struction would  not  be  objected  to  by  any  one  who  thoroughly  knew 
and  appreciated  the  circumstances.  So  far  as  he  was  concerned 
pecuniarily,  he  said  it  would  have  been  better  if  he  had  never  heard 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  When  it  was  completed  it  found 
itself  about  six  million  dollars  in  debt,  the  burden  of  which  fell  upon 
individuals,  himself  among  the  number.  This  and  the  necessity  of 
keeping  the  road  in  operation  finally  culminated  in  losses  in  excess  of 
all  profit  derived  by  him  from  the  construction  of  the  road. 

He  showed  what  immense  sums  the  government  had  already  received 
from  the  road  by  the  saving  in  the  cost  of  transportation.  At  that 
time  it  had  been  in  operation  for  four  years,  and  no  complaint  had 
been  heard  from  any  quarter  of  a  single  failure  to  faithfully  perform 
its  obligations  to  the  government  in  any  respect.  The  figures  by  which 
he  demonstrated  the  present  and  future  advantage  of  the  road  to  the 
government  were  eloquent  with  their  convincing  expression.  All 
this,  said  he,  is  solid  gain,  involving  no  consequential  element,  and 
susceptible  of  exact  computation.  "  When  the  rails,"  he  added, 
"were  joined  on  Promontory  Summit,  May  10,  1869,  the  Pacific  and 
the  Atlantic,  Europe  and  Asia,  the  East  and  the  West,  pledged  them- 


40  Memoir. 

selves  to  that  perpetual  amity  out  of  which  should  spring  an  inter- 
change of  the  most  precious  and  costly  commodities  known  to  traffic ; 
thus  assuring  a  commerce  whose  tide  should  ebb  to  and  fro  across  the 
continent  by  this  route  for  ages  to  come."  "A  region  of  boundless 
natural  resources,  lately  unknown,  unexplored,  and  uninhabited,  dom- 
inated by  savages,  has  been  reclaimed,  hundreds  of  millions  added  to 
the  wealth  of  the  nation,  and  the  bands  of  fraternal  and  commercial 
union  between  the  East  and  West  strengthened  beyond  the  power  of 
civil  discord  to  sever." 

And  he  most  solemnly  and  impressively  concluded  his  powerful 
argument  in  the  following  words,  which  those  who  reverence  the 
character  and  are  grateful  for  the  services  of  Oakes  Ames  are  fond 
of  frequently  repeating :  "  These,  then,  are  my  offenses  :  that  I  have 
risked  reputation,  fortune,  everything,  in  an  enterprise  of  incalcula- 
ble benefit  to  the  government,  from  which  the  capital  of  the  world 
shrank ;  that  I  have  sought  to  strengthen  the  work  thus  rashly 
undertaken  by  invoking  the  charitable  judgment  of  the  public  upon 
its  obstacles  and  embarrassments ;  that  I  have  had  friends,  some  of 
them  in  official  life,  with  whom  I  have  been  willing  to  share  advan- 
tageous opportunities  of  investments ;  that  I  have  kept  to  the  truth, 
through  good  and  evil  report,  denying  nothing,  concealing  nothing, 
reserving  nothing.  Who  will  say  that  I  alone  am  to  be  offered  up  a 
sacrifice  to  appease  a  public  clamor,  or  expiate  the  sins  of  others? 
Not  until  such  an  offering  is  made  will  I  believe  it  possible.  But  if 
this  body  shall  so  order  that  it  can  best  be  purified  by  the  choice  of  a 
single  victim,  I  shall  accept  its  mandate  ;  appealing  with  unfaltering 
confidence  to  the  impartial  verdict  of  history  for  that  vindication 
which  it  is  proposed  to  deny  me  here." 

The  conclusion  of  this  speech  was  the  signal  for  the  transmission  of 
congratulatory  messages  in  writing  from  the  galleries  of  the  House 
and  outside  to  Mr.  Ames,  accompanied  by  the  most  emphatic  assur- 
ances that  he  had  made  a  thorough  and  triumphant  vindication  of  his 
course.  It  was  an  hour  for  him  crowded  with  emotion.  He  bore  up 


Memoir.  41 

through  the  whole  debate,  which  lasted  three  days,  with  the  fortitude 
and  self-control  that  mark  conscious  integrity  when  beset  with  diffi- 
culties ;  but  when,  in  one  of  the  speeches  offered  in  his  defense,  allu- 
sions were  made  to  his  honesty,  to  the  struggles  in  life  that  had  made 
him  strong,  to  the  business  integrity  that  had  never  received  a  stain, 
to  the  openness  of  his  transactions  with  members  in  relation  to  the 
stock,  and  to  the  steady  consistency  which  stamped  his  whole  testi- 
mony before  the  committee  with  the  indelible  marks  of  truthfulness, 
his  stout  heart,  that  had  sustained  his  nerves  throughout  the  pro- 
tracted trial  without  a  sign  of  agitation,  suddenly  gave  way  before  the 
flood  of  feeling  that  for  the  moment  overwhelmed  it,  and  he  buried 
his  face  in  his  hands  and  wept.  The  features  that  had  not  relaxed, 
except  in  smiles  of  kindliness  and  charity,  through  the  tedious  weeks 
of  the  trial,  were  now  hidden  from  the  public  gaze  while  the  momen- 
tary paroxysm  of  emotion  passed  over  them.  The  revived  memories 
of  his  patriotic  association  with  Governor  Andrew  in  council,  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  civil  war ;  the  fresh  recollection  of  the  generous  kind- 
ness shown  him  in  the  shock  of  business  adversity,  which  the  mistaken 
course  of  the  government  itself  had  precipitated;  the  reminder  of 
the  profound  and  universal  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  those  with 
whom  he  had  had  commercial  relations  ;  and  the  thoughts  of  the  home 
where  he  was  known  only  to  be  treasured  in  love  and  affection,  broke 
over  the  gates  of  his  habitual  self-restraint,  and  made  the  temporary 
spectacle  eloquent  in  its  appeal  for  the  suspension  of  passion  and  panic, 
that  justice  and  truth  might  rule  the  hour. 

The  effect  of  the  general  debate  was  to  make  it  clear  to  most  minds 
in  the  House  that  a  resolution  of  expulsion  would  fatally  miscarry ; 
and  when  a  member  from  California  moved  to  substitute  for  it  a  reso- 
lution of  censure,  it  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  115  to  110,  15  not  vot- 
ing, and  the  substitute  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  182  to  86.  Twenty- 
two  members  did  not  vote,  while  many  of  those  who  voted  against 
substitution  did  so  because  they  thought  that  there  ought  not  to  be 
passed  so  much  as  a  resolution  of  censure.  The  report  of  the  inves- 


42  Memoir. 

tigating  committee  was  presented  to  the  House  on  the  18th  of  Feb- 
ruary, and  the  vote  of  censure  was  passed  on  the  28th.  It  was  but 
four  days  to  the  expiration  of  Congress,  and  the  final  termination  of 
the  public  life  of  the  man  thus  rebuked. 

The  resolution  adopted  reads  thus  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  House  absolutely  condemns  the  conduct  of 
Oakes  Ames,  a  member  from  Massachusetts,  in  seeking  to  procure 
congressional  attention  to  the  affairs  of  a  corporation  in  which  he 
was  interested,  and  whose  interest  directly  depended  upon  the  legis- 
lation of  Congress,  by  inducing  members  of  Congress  to  invest  in  the 
stocks  of  said  corporation." 

Mr.  Ames  occupied  a  seat  on  the  floor  directly  in  front  of  the 
Speaker,  where  he  could  be  seen  by  all,  when  the  vote  was  taken. 
He  sat  motionless  during  the  proceedings,  his  countenance  deadly 
pale,  awaiting  the  result.  It  was  a  moment  to  be  likened  only  to  that 
of  destiny.  The  impassive  appearance  but  poorly  concealed  the  work- 
ings of  the  spirit  within.  He  thought  of  his  past  life  of  industry 
and  honor ;  of  the  unparalleled  service  he  had  done  for  his  country,  at 
the  urgent  solicitation  of  its  prominent  men  and  patriots ;  of  the 
record  of  public  censure  which  was  to  be  his  only  reward  at  the  hands 
of  a  partisan  and  panic-stricken  Congress;  and  of  the  deplorable 
attempt  to  take  from  the  legacy  he  hoped  to  leave  to  his  posterity  and 
his  coilntry  its  richest  element,  —  honor ;  and  it  would  have  been  an 
anomaly  in  the  constitution  of  human  character  if  the  force  of  all 
these  considerations  together  were  not  positively  appalling.  The  sus- 
taining consciousness  of  unfaltering  integrity,  never  questioned  up  to 
the  very  close  of  his  life  until  it  was  questioned  by  the  selfish  coward- 
ice of  mere  politicians,  only  made  the  suffering  of  his  spirit  the  more 
aggravated.  The  very  solitariness  of  his  thoughts,  an  old  man  as  he 
was,  too,  added  to  the  pitiful  features  of  the  picture. 

And  the  poignancy  of  the  suffering  could  not  but  have  been  all  the 
greater,  instead  of  being  alleviated,  from  the  subsequent  eagerness  with 
which  those  who  had  just  censured  him  crowded  around  him,  with  ex- 


Memoir.  43 

tended  hands,  seeking  in  a  consistent  spirit  to  palliate  the  gross  wrong 
they  had  done  by  confessing  the  political  necessity  that  forced  them 
to  it.  At  last,  then,  the  true  motive  of  the  whole  proceeding  stood 
disclosed.  It  was  not,  said  they,  that  they  condemned  him,  but  they 
feared  for  themselves  the  condemnation  of  their  constituents.  Ought 
a  verdict  thus  obtained,  and  morally  worthless  by  the  open  admission 
of  those  who  rendered  it,  to  stand  as  the  permanent  record  of  the 
opinion  of  Congress  and  the  country  ? 

What  a  mockery  of  justice,  what  travesty  of  truth,  to  thus  proclaim 
to  the  world,  and  to  record  the  proclamation  as  a  part  of  the  history 
of  the  time,  the  infamy  of  a  fellow-being  whom  they  voluntarily  ad- 
mitted to  be  innocent !  And  there  were  those  among  this  censuring 
majority,  too,  who  gave  their  votes  of  condemnation  with  no  reference 
whatever  to  the  merits  of  the  case,  but  solely  with  future  political 
expectations  in  view.  It  would  all  appear  to  be  a  practical  and  a 
heartless  illustration  of  human  depravity,  in  comparison  with  which 
the  sin  charged  against  their  victim  is  whiteness  itself.  The  anatyst 
of  human  morals  must  be  puzzled  to  find  the  fit  expressions  in  which 
to  clothe  his  judgment  of  conduct  that  so  baffles  all  power  of  formu- 
lation. 

The  resolution  of  censure  was  not  an  honest  and  adequate  verdict 
in  the  case,  either,  in  any  sense.  It  utterly  failed  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  the  situation.  It  went  wide  of  the  original  -charge. 
It  was  insinuating,  insincere,  and  sinister.  It  contains  imputations 
where  findings  alone  are  to  be  tolerated.  Intent  is  hinted  where  only 
fact  was  the  matter  for  inquiry.  The  sales  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock 
are  condemned  on  account  chiefly  of  an  apprehended  wrong  that  was 
liable  to  spring  from  them.  Those  who  made  up  this  faulty  and 
false  judgment  could  not  comprehend  that  the  real  motive  of  the  man 
who  sold  these  small  amounts  of  stock  to  members  of  Congress  was 
not  to  influence  legislation,  plain  as  the  testimony  and  the  circum- 
stances combined  to  make  that  appear,  but  one  of  sympathetic  kind- 
ness mainly,  the  natural  expression  of  a  generous  man  towards  his 


44  Memoir. 

accepted  friends,  the  instinctive  desire  that  they  should  become  the 
sharers,  to  at  least  a  small  extent,  of  his  own  prosperity.  One  who 
served  with  him  on  the  railroad  committee  in  1864  says  that  when  Mr. 
Ames  called  upon  him  afterwards,  and  asked  him  to  join  with  himself 
and  others  in  "  lifting  "  this  enterprise  out  of  its  embarrassment  and 
try  to  carry  it  through,  he  urged  the  patriotic  consideration  of  its  im- 
mense benefit  to  the  nation,  and  the  great  credit  which  those  who 
should  be  instrumental  in  its  completion  would  receive  from  the  whole 
American  people.  The  mercenary  motive  and  the  corrupting  spirit  do 
not  dominate  the  one  who  sets  off  such  large  considerations  by  his  own 
deliberate  action. 

In  any  review,  however  hasty,  of  this  ill-starred  business,  it  can 
escape  the  attention  of  no  one  that  Oakes  Ames  had  but  one  accuser, 
namely,  McComb  ;  that  his  testimony  was  not  only  unsupported,  but 
positively  and  solemnly  contradicted  by  the  one  he  sought  to  destroy ; 
that  any  comparison  of  the  value  of  their  opposing  testimony  involved 
a  comparison  of  their  characters,  which  left  the  scales  in  a  strikingly 
uneven  relation  ;  that  McComb's  interpretation  of  the  letters  written 
him  by  Oakes  Ames  is  rendered  wholly  worthless  by  the  transparency 
of  his  motives  both  in  bringing  suit  and  in  publishing  the  letters  ;  that 
the  entire  movement,  in  using  the  McComb  letters  at  that  particular 
time,  was  a  piece  of  party  strategy,  skillfully  planned  and  calculated 
and  maliciously  executed  ;  that  it  was  made  just  when  it  was  for  the 
very  purpose  of  leaving  the  narrowest  possible  margin  of  time  in 
which  to  explain  and  clear  up  the  charges  brought ;  that  it  was  ex- 
pected a  fusillade  of  denials  by  Congressmen,  East  and  West,  would 
rout  the  partisan  skirmishers  who  were  feeling  for  future  political 
position  along  the  front  of  their  enemy  ;  that  the  excited  feelings  at- 
tending a  general  election  wanted  but  little  to  kindle  them  into  a 
flame ;  and  that  the  casting  of  this  fire-brand  aroused  a  class  of  coward 
fears  that  speedily  caused  an  outbreak  of  party  consternation.  From 
that  time  to  the  close  of  the  canvass,  it  was  but  the  prelude  to  the 
unparalleled  scenes  in  the  investigating  committee-room  and  on  the 
floor  of  Congress. 


Memoir.  45 

The  remarkable  feature  of  the  case  was  that  in  no  quarter  was 
Oakes  Ames  less  esteemed  than  before,  and  that  he  was  regarded  more 
highly  than  ever  where  he  was  known.  It  was  so  singular  a  fact  as 
to  be  almost  phenomenal  in  human  experience  that  the  real  truth  of 
the  whole  matter  would  never  have  been  known  but  for  his  intrepid 
telling  of  it ;  the  only  faltering,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  which  he 
manifested  being  shown  in  order  to  screen  others  from  the  effect  of 
their  own  falsehoods  or  prevarications.  But  when  he  saw  that  they 
not  only  denied,  but  defied,  he  hesitated  no  longer  in  giving  up  what 
he  would  have  preferred  to  withhold  for  their  sake,  and  disclosed 
the  entire  transaction  to  its  bottom  detail.  After  all,  the  condemna- 
tion of  Oakes  Ames  by  Congress  could  never  have  been  compassed 
except  by  the  use  of  his  own  testimony.  It  was  in  consequence  of 
telling  the  plain  truth,  and  the  whole  of  it,  that  he  received  the  pub- 
lic censure  of  Congress,  of  those  who  denied  what  he  affirmed.  Those 
whom  he  exposed  came  off  unscathed,  while  Congress  likewise  refused 
to  believe  them.  By  accepting  his  testimony  as  the  truth  and  using  it 
for  his  condemnation,  Congress  cleared  those  who  contradicted  it,  and 
censured  him.  If  it  was  to  give  his  testimony  the  preference,  the 
simplest  form  of  logic  would  lead  to  the  one  conclusion  that  they 
should  have  been  equally  condemned  with  him  in  the  first  place,  and 
doubly  condemned  for  venturing  to  deny  the  truth  as  Congress  saw 
and  accepted  it. 

There  is  sufficient  unreason  in  this  legislative  episode  to  amount  to 
stultification.  Never  has  there  been  a  similar  scene  recorded  in  our 
history.  And  nothing  contained  in  it  all  is  justified  by  the  passing 
years  ;  nothing  remains  of  its  memories  to  furnish  the  slightest  real 
satisfaction ;  nothing  appeals  to  the  readers  of  our  political  history  at 
that  time  to  excite  either  gratification  or  pride,  but  the  undeviating  de- 
votion to  the  truth  which  exalts  the  name  of  Oakes  Ames  to  the  high- 
est level  as  an  unpretending  teacher  of  public  morals.  The  path  he 
took  through  that  trackless  bog,  in  the  surrounding  darkness,  is  lumi- 
nous to-day.  The  lesson  impressed  by  the  whole  trial  is  the  permanent 


46  Memoir. 

supremacy  of  honesty  of  character.  It  was  not  Oakes  Ames  who 
went  down  before  that  storm  of  passionate  fear,  but  those  who  dared 
to  deny  what  Oakes  Ames  affirmed.  It  was  he  who  was  censured ; 
it  was  they  who  were  condemned. 

He  left  the  scene  of  his  triumphs  and  his  suffering  at  the  end  of  the 
session,  never  to  return.  The  hurt  he  had  received  from  thankless 
hands  lacerated  his  heart.  The  native  rnggedness  of  his  exterior  may 
have  led  those  who  administered  it  to  believe  that  he  came  off  harm- 
less from  the  desperate  political  game  they  had  been  playing,  using 
him  for  a  pawn ;  but  they  evidently  knew  little  of  the  deep  and  ten- 
der feeling  which  that  exterior  inclosed,  —  the  deeper  and  tenderer 
because  of  its  undemonstrative  habit  before  men. 

His  neighbors  and  townsmen  at  his  Easton  home  determined  to 
testify  their  abiding  faith  in  his  honor  and  their  just  pride  in  his 
fame,  though  a  score  of  Congresses  had  done  their  best  to  becloud 
the  one  and  rob  him  of  the  other.  They  therefore  arranged  to  give 
him  a  sincere  welcome  home  on  his  arrival.  It  was  originally  in- 
tended that  it  should  be  a  strictly  local  affair ;  but  his  friends 
throughout  the  Second  District  broke  over  all  such  restraints,  and 

rm\ 

joined  heartily  in  the  demonstration.  The  exercises  included  a  pub- 
lic reception  in  the  school-house,  given  by  the  Ameses  to  the  town,  and 
a  few  appropriate  speeches ;  the  one  which  of  course  excited  the  chief 
interest  being  that  of  the  recipient  himself  of  these  tokens  of  popular 
confidence.  In  that  brief  response  he  said,  — 

"  I  have,  as  you  are  aware,  been  the  principal  subject  of  abuse  for  the  past 
six  months.  The  press  of  the  country  has  been  full  of  what  is  called  the 
Credit  Mobilier  scandal.  The  whole  offense,  if  offense  it  can  be  called,  is  in 
selling  sixteen  thousand  dollars  of  stock  to  eleven  members  of  Congress,  at  the 
same  price  I  paid  for  it,  and  at  the  same  price  I  sold  the  stock  to  others ;  and 
if  the  parties  purchasing  the  stock  had  simply  told  the  truth,  and  said  they  had 
a  right  to  purchase  it,  that  would  have  been  the  end  of  it.  But  from  the  fact 
of  their  denial,  the  public  suspected  there  must  be  something  criminal  in  the 
transaction ;  and  to  find  out  what  the  crime  was,  Congress  appointed  a  commit- 


Memoir.  47 

tee  to  inquire  if  Oakes  Ames  had  bribed  any  member  of  Congress.  The  result 
was  the  appointment  of  the  notorious  Poland  committee.  That  committee  was 
engaged  nearly  three  months,  and  the  result  of  all  its  labors  was  to  badly  dam- 
age the  character  of  some  men  high  in  office  for  truth  and  veracity.  But  the 
object  of  the  committee,  to  see  if  Oakes  Ames  bribed  any  member,  was  admit- 
ted *  not  proven  ; '  but  that  committee  made  the  wonderful  discovery  that  I  was 
guilty  in  selling  stock  for  less  than  it  was  worth,  but  the  parties  taking  the 
stock  and  keeping  it  were  very  innocent;  and  that  I  had  the  extraordinary 
ability  to  give  men  a  bribe  without  their  knowing  it,  and  to  do  they  did  not 
know  what.  That 's  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  which  has 
kept  the  country  in  a  state  of  excitement  for  the  past  six  months." 

His  speech  was  received  with  the  hearty  applause  which  told  of  the 
perfect  accord  of  listeners  and  speaker,  and  was  immediately  followed 
by  the  familiar  strains  of  "  Home,  sweet  Home,"  by  the  band.  It 
was  a  joyous  occasion  for  the  neighbors  and  friends  of  Oakes  Ames, 
who  felt  that  they  had  got  him  back  among  themselves  once  more, 
where  he  was  to  stay.  To  him  it  must  have  been  one  of  the  most 
satisfactory  scenes  of  his  long  life ;  even  more  so,  when  he  searched 
the  corners  of  his  heart,  than  the  driving  of  the  golden  spike  that 
joined  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific  Railroads  in  a  single  line  across 
the  desert  and  the  mountains. 

To  a  friend  in  Boston,  not  long  afterwards,  who  had  sought  to 
rally  him  on  his  congressional  experience  somewhat,  he  remarked, 
"  I  have  got  home  among  my  friends.  They  know  me,  and  I  mean 
to  stay."  His  stay,  however,  was  lamentably  brief.  The  tremendous 
strain  on  all  his  powers  which  the  building  of  the  Pacific  Railroad 
had  wrought  was  more  than  doubled  by  the  wholly  unexpected  expe- 
rience of  the  past  winter,  and  the  two  together  undermined  the  stock 
of  strength  that  remained  after  so  prolonged  and  severe  exertion. 
Without  doubt,  he  would  have  confessed  that  the  construction  of  the 
road  itself  had  not  cost  him  one  half  as  much  of  his  actual  life,  its 
substance  and  its  vigor,  as  the  struggle  of  a  winter  with,  an  insensate 
Congress  had  done. 


48  Memoir. 

A  number  of  the  merchants  and  business  men  of  Boston  were 
making  preparations  to  offer  him  a  complimentary  dinner,  at  which 
suitable  public  expression  would  have  been  made  of  the  high  esteem 
and  unshaken  confidence  in  which  he  was  held,  as  well  as  of  the  pro- 
found admiration  felt  for  the  consummate  achievement  with  which  his 
name  was  always  to  be  associated.  But  their  intention  was  forestalled 
by  the  event  that  followed  with  so  brief  a  warning. 

He  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  complicated  with  pneumonia,  on 
Monday,  the  fifth  day  of  May,  and  after  lingering  until  the  following 
Thursday  was  released  from  all  earthly  burdens  and  responsibilities 
forever.  His  end  was  wholly  peaceful.  Surrounded  by  his  family, 
whom  he  individually  recognized  up  to  the  closing  day  of  his  exist- 
ence, he  passed  quietly  from  the  scene  of  his  activities  to  enter  on 
those  not  yet  disclosed  to  human  vision.  He  died,  as  he  would  have 
wished  to  die,  at  home,  his  family  about  his  bedside,  in  an  atmos- 
phere that  breathed  only  affection.  All  felt  that  he  had  at  last  found 
rest ;  that  his  great  and  kindly  heart  was  no  more  to  be  disturbed  by 
the  contentions  of  ingratitude  and  the  treachery  of  untruth. 

The  tidings  of  his  unexpected  death  flew  to  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try with  electric  speed,  causing  an  outpouring  of  spontaneous  regrets 
everywhere  at  his  departure  as  a  serious  national  loss.  His  eminent 
qualities  as  an  American  citizen  were  universally  conceded.  His 
inestimable  services  to  the  nation  were  confessed.  All  hearts  mani- 
fested the  sorrow  they  so  profoundly  felt.  The  same  journals  that  had, 
for  partisan  reasons,  seen  fit  to  assail  him  with  an  unceasing  stream 
of  vituperation  ceased  from  their  accustomed  strain,  and  joined  with 
the  rest  in  paying  tribute  to  his  great  character.  The  magical  stroke 
of  death  seemed  to  be  necessary  to  silence  the  uproar  of  passion 
which  party  pursuits  had  shamelessly  evoked.  In  that  dread  presence 
the  tongues  of  thoughtless  calumny  were  hushed.  An  appeal  had 
been  most  unexpectedly  taken  from  weak  human  judgment  to  that 
which  searches  every  heart. 

He  died  on  the  eighth  day  of  May,  1873,  in  the  late  evening,  and 


Memoir.  49 

was  buried  from  his  home,  in  the  same  ground  where  the  remains  of 
his  ancestors  repose,  on  Sunday,  May  llth.  The  funeral  services 
drew  a  large  concourse  of  people,  numbering  fully  three  thousand, 
among  whom  were  the  leading  citizens  of  the  State  and  conspicuous 
representatives  of  every  department  of  life.  The  scene  could  not 
fail  to  impress  one  profoundly  with  a  sense  of  the  silent  power  of  his 
name  and  character.  The  exercises  were  simple,  as  befitted  the  one 
over  whose  clay  they  were  held.  The  address  of  the  ministering 
clergyman,  Rev.  Rush  R.  Shippen,  was  strikingly  appreciative  and 
beautifully  appropriate,  conveying  to  the  minds  of  the  great  collection 
of  listeners  such  an  estimate  and  summary  of  the  worth  of  the  man 
whom  all  had  come  to  honor,  though  departed,  as  would  remain  a 
permanent  record  in  their  memories. 

"  He  was  true  to  the  great  questions  of  the  time,"  remarked  the 
reverend  speaker,  "  and  was  through  life  a  loyal  advocate  and  an 
adherent  of  the  cause  of  temperance  and  freedom.  With  ample 
means  for  luxury,  preserving  a  Puritan  simplicity  in  his  home  and 
habit  of  life,  and  by  precept  as  well  as  by  example  leading  the  way 
from  extravagances  of  the  hour  that  tempt  so  many  beyond  their 
means,  and  preserving  that  republican  and  majestic  simplicity  of  the 
older  generations,  he  met  men  on  the  level  of  simple  manhood ;  never 
cowering  to  the  lofty,  and  never  despising  the  lowly.  With  no  aristo- 
cratic ways  of  speech  or  manner  that  repelled  the  common  man,  but 
meeting  all  men  with  a  simple  justice,  taking  them  as  they  were,  his 
distinguishing  characteristic  was  his  massive  mould  and  stature,  that 
made  him  a  mighty  worker  in  the  world's  affairs." 

"  Friends  are  more  sensitive,"  said  he,  in  closing,  "  to  the  mistakes 
of  friends  than  any  outsiders  can  be,  but  they  only  ask  that  the  man 
shall  be  taken  in  the  largeness  of  his  purpose  and  the  largeness  of  the 
services  which  he  has  rendered.  When  we  are  close  to  a  mountain, 
we  see  sometimes  only  the  small  seams  and  fissures  on  its  surface ; 
but  when  we  recede,  we  see  it  in  the  true  perspective,  and  can  raise 
our  eyes  to  its  summit ;  and  then  we  see  it  in  its  grander  and  more 

4 


50  Memoir. 

majestic  proportions.  I  say  solemnly  to-day  that  when  the  clamor  of 
the  hour  has  passed  the  American  people  will  better  recognize  the 
grandeur  of  his  services  to  them ;  and,  for  myself,  I  anticipate  that 
verdict  of  the  coming  time.  When  I  remember  how  the  wealth  and 
the  resources  and  the  civilization  of  America  have  been  indebted  to 
him,  I  willingly  and  gladly  pay,  this  day,  my  tribute  of  gratitude  to 
his  memory." 

A  meeting  of  the  Directors  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
was  held  in  Boston  on  the  25th  of  June,  1878,  at  which  the  accom- 
panying resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Hon.  Oakes  Ames,  a  mem- 
ber of  this  Board  since  1870,  has  been  received  by  us  with  profound  sor- 
row, and  we  desire  to  express  and  put  on  record  our  high  estimate  of  his 
strong,  manly  character,  and  our  deep  sense  of  his  especial  usefulness  to  this 
corporation.  We  esteemed  him  for  his  far-sighted  enterprise,  resolution,  pa- 
tience, cheerfulness,  and  sterling  integrity.  His  interest  in  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  commenced  long  ago,  and  his  good  offices  to  the  company  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  He  had  faith  when  all  was  doubt ;  courage  when  courage 
was  needed  ;  resources  when  others  had  none.  In  the  darkest  period  of  war 
and  financial  distrust  his  indomitable  spirit  urged  forward  the  building  of  this 
road  and  sustained  its  credit.  In  its  behalf  he  carried  great  burdens  of  care 
and  debt.  Now  that  all  those  cares  have  ended,  the  popular  voice  entitles 
him  '  Builder  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.'  We  sincerely  mourn  the  loss 
of  a  friend  so  true,  an  associate  so  trustworthy,  and  a  citizen  so  valuable  to 
his  State  and  the  nation." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
Company,  held  in  Boston  on  the  10th  of  March,  1875,  the  following 
resolution  was  unanimously  passed :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  Oakes  Ames,  and  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  services  in  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  to 


Forbes  Alhertype— Boston. 


MONUMENT 

IN    MEMORY    OF   OAKES    AMES    AND   OLIVER   AMES, 

cted  by  the    Union  Pacific  Railway  Company  at  Sherman,  Wyoming  Territory,  -the  highest  point  reached  by  its 
railroad      Base,  60  feet  square.     Height,  60  feet.     Summit,  8,350  feet  above  level  of  the  sea. 


Memoir.  51 

which  he  devoted  his  means  and  his  best  energies  with  a  courage,  fidelity,  and 
integrity  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  railroad  construction,  the  Directors  are 
requested  to  take  measures,  in  cooperation  with  such  friends  as  may  desire  to 
contribute,  for  the  erection,  at  some  point  on  the  line  of  the  road,  of  a  suitable 
and  permanent  monument." 

Oakes  Ames  was  one  of  the  characteristic  products  of  New  Eng- 
land, and,  bred  among  his  native  surroundings,  could  not  have  been 
other  than  he  was.  A  man  of  primitively  simple  habits  ;  a  man  of 
deeds  rather  than  words  ;  a  man  of  and  with  the  people ;  ambitious 
without  accompanying  egotism ;  frank  and  fearless  ;  rugged  yet  kind ; 
of  plain  personal  address  that  might  be  thought  homely  ;  whose  writ- 
ten expressions  were  pithy,  condensed,  and  forcible  with  meaning ; 
with  no  suspicion  of  exclusiveness  about  him ;  the  last  marked  repre- 
sentative of  the  sturdy  Puritan  race  ;  patient  as  the  laboring  ox  under 
his  self-imposed  burdens ;  one  who  radically  believed  in  the  dignity  as 
he  did  in  the  abiding  worth  of  labor,  he  built  up  his  fame  as  he  did 
his  fortune,  on  the  broad  base  of  useful  service.  His  friendships  were 
tenacious  and  strong ;  his  affections  were  deep  and  warm  ;  and  under 
a  rugged  exterior  he  carried  the  heart  of  a  child. 

It  is  not  easy  to  speak  even  iii  measured  terms  of  the  unparalleled 
achievement  of  his  life,  without  seeming  to  employ  the  phraseology 
of  exaggeration.  So  vast  a  conception  it  is  rarely  given  to  a  single 
human  being  to  carry  alone.  The  combining  of  the  numerous  and 
powerful  forces  necessary  to  its  successful  execution  of  itself  indicates 
the  operating  presence  of  a  man  possessed  of  the  largest  powers  in  a 
state  of  perfect  discipline.  Nothing  less  than  an  ambition  inspired 
by  exalted  patriotism  could  have  defied,  singly  and  collectively,  the 
difficulties  that  multiplied  as  the  work  advanced.  No  recital  of  them 
in  their  minutest  details  could  place  the  reader  of  them  in  the  full 
possession  of  their  hostile  significance.  Ordinary  men  they  would 
have  led  to  believe  that  the  undertaking  had  been  prohibited  by  both 
man  and  nature ;  him  they  only  stimulated  to  grander  endeavor,  as  if 
he  actually  gloried  in  proving  the  strength  of  his  purpose  in  a  contest 


52  Memoir. 

from  which  others  retreated  at  the  outset.  That  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  of  Oakes  Ames  that  he  was  the  builder  of  the  Union  Pacific 
may  be  shown  by  simply  withdrawing  his  name  from  the  company  of 
his  associates  ;  it  will  at  once  be  seen  who  it  was  that  imparted  to 
them  the  courage,  who  aroused  in  them  the  energy,  and  who  steadily 
held  them  up  to  the  high  level  of  persistency  by  which  all  was  at  last 
achieved. 

What  this  road  to  the  Pacific  means  for  the  country  is  not  to  be 
cast  in  even  partial  estimate  at  the  present  time.  As  years  and  a 
succession  of  generations  are  needed  to  furnish  the  proper  perspective 
to  the  magnitude  of  the  enterprise,  so  are  they  also  necessary  to  any 
approximate  statement  of  its  actual  import  and  value.  The  latter 
will  go  on  increasing  in  a  ratio  which  cannot  be  fixed.  The  present 
saving  to  the  government  in  the  item  of  transportation,  great  as  it  is, 
will  appear  trivial  by  the  side  of  the  reclamation  of  the  trackless  desert 
to  the  footsteps  of  civilization,  the  planting  of  smiling  towns  and  cities 
in  solitary  wastes,  the  expansion  of  productive  human  industries  into 
the  unbroken  silence  of  nature,  the  creation  of  uncounted  communities 
of  happy  homes,  and  the  indissoluble  union  of  the  crowded  populations 
of  opposite  shores.  It  needs  the  prophetic  eye  to  disclose  all  the 
varied  fruits  of  this  great  enterprise,  which  awaited  only  the  coming 
of  the  chosen  man.  Unquestionably,  he  saw  in  imagination  a  large 
part  of  this  grand  living  panorama,  and  he  longed  to  associate  his 
name  for  all  coming  time  with  the  achievement  that  was  to  make  it 
wholly  reality.  He  must  have  seen  farther  than  ambition  alone  al- 
lowed him.  He  could  not  have  been  satisfied  with  the  view  which 
any  hopes  of  mere  profit  held  up  before  him.  He  looked  into  the 
distant  future,  and  beheld  busy  generations  peopling  the  wilds  he  had 
penetrated  as  their  pioneer.  And  his  heart  must  have  dilated  with  a 
satisfaction  too  deep  for  speech  at  the  thought  of  what  his  fellow-men 
would  ever  gratefully  remember  that  he  had  done. 

In  an  encomium  of  him  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
Senator  Dawes,  then  a  Representative,  used  the  following  language : 


Memoir.  53 

"  I  have  a  colleague  who  has  adorned  his  calling  through  a  long  life  of 
industry;  who  has  carried  greater  loads  upon  his  shoulders,  and 
worked  out  greater  problems  in  the  development  of  the  resources  of 
this  country,  than  any  man  connected  with  any  material  interest  or 
enterprise  in  the  whole  United  States." 

"  A  grateful  nation  will  yet  rear  his  monument ;  and  its  inscrip- 
tion will  be,  THE  BUILDER  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD." 

Does  not  Massachusetts,  among  whose  first  citizens  he  will  ever 
rank,  and  on  whose  reputation  for  far-reaching  purpose  and  coura- 
geous enterprise  he  has  conferred  imperishable  lustre,  owe  it  to  herself 
to  procure  the  effacement  of  the  stigma  which  rests  on  her  name  as 
well  as  his  own,  and  the  substitution  in  its  place  of  a  public  recogni- 
tion of  services  which  were  of  the  first  order  of  practical  patriotism  ? 

Does  not  the  country,  at  length  possessed  of  the  marvelous  achjeve- 
ment  which  was  mainly  the  fruit  of  his  brain,  now  realize  that  the 
reward  for  such  services  is  not  cowardly  rebuke,  but  proud  acknowl- 
edgment and  admiring  appreciation? 


OAKES  AMES   MEMORIAL  HALL, 

NORTH    EASTON,    MASS. 


DEDICATION  OF  THE   OAKES  AMES  MEMORIAL  HALL. 


To  the  filial  devotion  of  the  sons  of  the  late  Oakes  Ames  is  due 
the  erection  of  the  visible  testimonial  to  their  honored  father's  mem- 
ory, which  stands  in  bold  relief  upon  its  base  of  solid  rock  in  North 
Easton.  It  contains,  in  the  public  uses  for  which  it  was  constructed, 
the  living  germ  which  will  secure  for  its  expression  the  perpetuity  to 
which  all  architectural  effects  are  directed.  A  monument  to  the  First 
Citizen  of  the  town,  it  stands  in  the  daily  sight  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
and  is  virtually  open  at  all  times  for  their  occupancy  and  service.  Its 
walls  will,  so  long  as  they  stand,  be  clothed  with  recollections  of  the 
sterling  virtues  of  his  simple  but  strong  character. 

The  structure  at  once  impresses  the  eye  of  the  beholder  with  a 
sense  of  grandeur  and  beauty  in  harmonious  combination.  It  is  most 
significantly  placed  on  the  edge  of  a  ledge  of  native  rock,  which  pre- 
sents on  one  side  a  bold  and  rugged  face,  and  stands  at  a  high  eleva- 
tion above  the  road  and  but  a  little  distance  from  it.  So  commanding 
is  the  natural  position  and  so  imposing  is  the  structure,  it  has  been 
well  compared  in  its  external  effect  to  an  ancient  castle.  An  octag- 
onal tower  rises  at  the  corner  of  the  mass  of  rock,  which  is  the  most 
precipitous.  The  edifice  exposes  its  side  to  the  road,  and,  excluding 
the  tower  elevation,  is  ninety-six  and  one  third  feet  in  length.  For 
its  entire  length  it  is  ornamented  with  an  arcade,  supported  by  five 
arches.  The  structure  above  this  arcade  is  pierced  for  windows,  which 


56  Dedication. 

admit  light  to  the  main  hall,  and  a  roof  with  a  steep  pitch,  covered 
with  red  tiles,  completes  the  description  of  the  outline  of  the  edifice. 

The  material  used  in  the  construction  is  the  native  granite  of  North 
Easton,  pinkish-gray  in  color,  which  is  employed  in  the  first  story, 
the  second  being  finished  in  handsome  brick.  The  trimmings,  which 
are  generous,  are  of  brown  stone.  The  arches  of  the  arcade  are  sup- 
ported by  columns,  with  carved  capitals.  Over  the  front  dormer- 
window,  wreathed  with  sculptured  foliage,  appears  a  monogram 
formed  of  the  letters  "  O.  A.,"  and  about  the  frieze  which  orna- 
ments the  beautiful  tower  with  its  elaborate  carving  are  to  be  distin- 
guished the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac. 

Short  and  easy  flights  of  broad  steps  of  brown  stone  and  granite 
offer  an  inviting  ascent  to  the  Hall,  finished  at  their  outer  edges  with 
brown  stone  curves.  The  entrance  is  by  the  arcade,  which  has  a 
width  of  twelve  feet,  and  within  which  is  inscribed  on  a  tablet  of 
stone  these  words :  "  This  building  was  erected  in  memory  of  Oakes 
Ames  by  his  children."  Through  the  hall-way  the  passage  on  the 
left  is  into  a  hall  thirty-two  feet  by  eleven,  or  directly  forward  into  a 
smaller  room.  The  stairs  to  the  upper  hall  are  placed  in  the  tower, 
and  likewise  conduct  to  the  roof  hall,  which  is  devoted  to  Masonic 
uses.  The  main  hall  is  on  the  second  story,  and  is  fifty-nine  feet  in 
length,  and  forty-seven  feet  in  width,  and  twenty  feet  in  height.  The 
stage,  which  is  not  included  in  the  dimensions  of  the  main  hall,  meas- 
ures twenty-six  feet  by  eighteen.  The  windows  are  of  stained  and 
plain  glass,  four  on  either  side  of  the  hall.  The  inner  walls  are  in 
harmonious  coloring,  producing  a  bright,  cheerful,  and  thoroughly 
agreeable  effect.  The  cost  of  this  noble  edifice  was  sixty  thousand 
dollars,  and  its  construction  throughout  proceeded  without  regard  to 
the  amount  of  expenditure  under  the  original  plan  of  the  architect. 

The  public  dedication  of  this  building  was  finally  appointed  for 
November  17,  1881,  and  a  large  number  of  prominent  and  distin- 
guished men,  citizens  of  other  States  as  well  as  of  Massachusetts,  were 
invited  to  be  present  and  participate  in  the  ceremonies.  The  occasion 


Dedication.  57 

thus  became  a  memorable  one  in  a  larger  than  a  strictly  local  sense. 
The  absent  would  be  more  easily  numbered  than  those  who  were 
present.  The  gathering  was  a  notable  one  for  Massachusetts.  Be- 
tween four  and  five  hundred  men,  chiefly  public  men  and  men  of  dis- 
tinction, came  down  to  North  Easton  from  Boston  in  a  special  train, 
including  a  large  representation  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  which 
had  made  an  early  adjournment  in  order  to  give  members  an  oppor- 
tunity to  be  present,  among  whom  were  the  President  of  the  Senate 
and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  There  were  also 
present  the  Governor  of  the  State,  members  of  Congress  from  the  dif- 
ferent districts,  the  city  officials  of  Boston,  railroad  men,  merchants, 
bankers,  members  of  the  legal  and  clerical  professions,  and,  in  fact, 
the  representatives  of  every  leading  business,  profession,  and  calling. 
There  were  present,  too,  the  men  who  had  been  most  closely  associ- 
ated with  the  late  Oakes  Ames  in  his  business  enterprises,  whose 
names  are  known  in  connection  with  the  same  from  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other. 

The  dedication  involved  the  formal  presentation  of  the  edifice  to 
the  town  of  Easton,  for  its  public  use  forever.  Within  its  walls  the 
citizens  were  thus  chartered  to  hold  their  public  meetings  for  deliber- 
ating on  their  common  interests  and  welfare  ;  to  assemble  for  purposes 
of  intellectual  enjoyment  and  cultivated  recreation  ;  and,  on  all  neces- 
sary occasions,  to  utter  the  town  sentiments  and  opinions,  with  the 
authority  of  an  independent  civil  organization. 

The  towns-people  lined  the  road  from  the  railroad  station  to  the 
Hall,  to  welcome  with  respectful  silence  the  arrival  of  the  dis- 
tinguished men  who  had  come  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of.  their 
famous  fellow-citizen.  There  was  no  attempt  to  move  in  procession 
to  the  Hall,  but  the  visitors  naturally  formed  an  unbroken  line,  and 
at  once  repaired  to  the  scene  of  the  day's  exercises. 

These  were  begun  by  Mr.  A.  A.  Gilmore,  the  chairman  of  the  day, 
by  requesting  Rev.  William  L.  Chaffin,  of  North  Easton,  to  offer 
prayer,  which  he  did  as  follows :  — 


58  Dedication. 

"  O  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  may  we  not  be  unmindful  that  now,  as 
always,  we  are  in  thy  most  holy  presence ;  and  may  the  thought  that  Thou  art 
with  us  here  sanctify  our  purpose  and  feeling,  so  that  we  may  engage  in  this 
service  in  the  right  spirit ;  so  that  whatever  we  do  may  be  done  as  unto 
the  Lord.  And  may  all  the  words  of  our  mouths  and  the  meditations  of  our 
hearts  be  acceptable  in  thy  sight. 

"  We  praise  thee,  O  God,  with  thankful  hearts  that  Thou  hast  bound  us 
together  by  strong  and  enduring  ties  of  love  and  friendship,  which  time  and 
death  cannot  destroy,  and  which,  because  Thou  art,  and  because  Thou  hast 
created  them,  are  the  surest  prophecy  of  our  immortality.  We  praise  Thee 
that  we  are  permitted  to  come  together  here  this  day,  animated  by  a  common 
sentiment ;  not  to  pay  homage  to  wealth,  or  power,  or  worldly  success,  but  to 
unite  in  a  service  of  honored  and  affectionate  remembrance  of  the  man  in 
whose  name  this  building,  the  tribute  of  a  devoted  filial  love,  has  been  erected. 
May  his  image  be  fresh  in  our  recollection,  so  that  he  may  seem  to  be  with 
us,  looking  into  our  faces,  clasping  our  hands  with  warm  greetings  of  friend- 
ship, and  speaking  words  of  cordial  and  equal  good-will  to  all,  of  whatever 
station  and  condition.  If  it  is  permitted  those  who  have  died  but  who  live 
evermore,  O  God,  with  Thee,  to  look  down  upon  the  scenes  they  once  loved  in 
this  world,  we  rejoice  that  his  heart  is  made  glad  by  this  great  gathering  of 
his  friends  who  meet  here  in  his  honor  to-day. 

"  May  their  respect  and  love,  the  respect  and  love  of  so  many  of  those 
who  knew  him  best,  do  something  to  right  the  grievous  wrong  of  the  past ; 
and  now  that  the  passions  and  fears  and  sordid  self-interests  of  that  time 
are  silenced,  do  Thou,  O  God,  dispose  the  minds  of  men  to  candor  and  jus- 
tice. 

"  Most  graciously,  O  God,  be  present  with  us  and  bless  us  in  our  service 
this  afternoon.  Wilt  Thou  bless  the  filial  love  that  prompted  this  fitting  me- 
morial. Wilt  Thou  bless  this  gift  which  for  years  and  generations  to  come  will 
be  a  means  of  real  benefit  and  pleasure  to  people  here ;  and,  as  they  gather  in 
this  place,  may  there  come  to  them  from  time  to  time  tender  thoughts  of  him 
in  whose  honor  these  walls  have  been  upraised. 

"  O  God,  wilt  Thou  bless  us  all.  Bless  us  now,  and  bless  us  forevermore. 
Amen." 

The   chairman  then  said,  "Ladies   and  gentlemen,  to  me  is  as- 


Dedication.  59 

signed  the  delightful  privilege  of  bidding  you  welcome  to  the  village 
of  North  Easton,  the  home  for  more  than  half  a  century  of  Oliver 
Ames,  senior,  and  the  life-long  residence  of  his  sons,  Oakes  Ames  and 
Oliver  Ames,  where  they  were  all  and  always  honored,  respected,  and 
loved.  We  are  assembled  here  to-day  to  dedicate  to  the  memory  of 
Oakes  Ames  this  edifice,  the  gift  of  his  sons  to  the  town  of  Easton, 
and  I  now  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you  one  of  those  sons, 
our  fellow-townsman  and  public-spirited  citizen,  the  Honorable  Oliver 
Ames." 

As  Mr.  Ames  came  forward,  he  was  greeted  with  hearty  and  long- 
continued  applause.  He  addressed  the  assembly  in  the  following 
words :  — 

*'  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  —  The  building  in  which  we  are  assem- 
bled is  erected  in  honor  of  our  father,  the  late  Oakes  Ames,  to  stand  as 
a  monument  to  his  public  services  and  to  his  private  worth.  This,  the 
Oakes  Ames  Memorial  Hall,  we  dedicate  to-day  to  the  use  and  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people  of  Easton.  To  you,"  —  addressing  Mr.  Lewis 
H.  Smith,  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  —  "the  trustees  ap- 
pointed to  receive  and  care  for  the  building,  we  now  present  the  keys, 
trusting  that  the  building  will  prove  a  source  of  pleasure  and  conven- 
ience to  the  good  people  of  the  town."  (Loud  applause.) 

Mr.  Smith  responded  as  follows  for  the  trustees :  "  The  trustees, 
to  whose  charge  you  have  entrusted  this  Memorial  Hall,  accept  your 
noble  and  generous  gift  in  behalf  of  the  town  of  Easton.  We  offer 
to  you  our  most  sincere  and  hearty  thanks.  We  shall  highly  prize 
this  building  for  its  own  sake,  for  the  new  beauty  it  gives  the  town, 
and  for  the  valuable  uses  it  will  serve.  But  we  shall  prize  it  more 
highly  yet  because  it  is  a  worthy  memorial  of  a  man  whom  we  all 
delight  to  honor,  —  your  beloved  father  and  our  fellow-townsman,  the 
HONORABLE  OAKES  AMES."  (Applause.) 

The  band  enlivened  the  exercises  with  a  musical  performance,  after 
which  the  chairman  called  for  the  reading  of  the  letters  received  from 
a  number  of  distinguished  public  men  and  business  associates  of  the 


60  Dedication. 

late  Oakes  Ames,  which  service  was  performed  by  Hon.  Charles  W. 
Slack,  of  Boston.  He  prefaced  the  reading  with  the  accompanying 
remarks :  — 

"  My  humble  share  in  this  happy  occasion  arises  from  the  fact  that,  at  the 
request  of  the  sons  of  our  honored  and  deceased  friend,  I  conducted  a  portion 
of  the  correspondence  which  led  to  this  delightful  gathering  to-day.  I  have 
to  say  that  there  were  received  some  sixty  or  seventy  letters  in  response  by 
eminent  men  all  over  the  country ;  and  although  I  do  not  intend  to  read  any- 
thing like  even  a  fair  proportion  of  these  letters,  they  all  breathe  the  same 
generous  and  appreciative  estimate  of  the  distinguished  man  who  has  passed 
away,  and  who  hereafter  is  to  be  remembered  in  this  elegant  hall." 

Extracts  from  a  number  of  these  letters  will  be  found  at  the  close 
of  the  present  narrative. 

The  chairman,  after  the  reading,  came  forward,  and  introduced  to 
the  company  his  Excellency,  Governor  Long,  as  "  the  Governor  and 
Governor-elect  by  a  large  majority,"  who  was  received  with  the  hearti- 
est demonstrations  of  satisfaction.  The  Governor  spoke  in  the  follow- 
ing strain :  — 

"  What  a  tender  New  England  feeling  is  in  the  legend,  engraved  in  letters 
of  stone,  which  met  our  eyes  as  we  entered  these  doors  !  '  This  building  was 
erected  in  memory  of  Oakes  Ames  by  his  children.'  One  hardly  knows 
whether  such  a  splendid  edifice  reflects  more  credit  upon  the  father  to  whose 
memory  and  in  honor  of  whose  great  enterprise  and  public  spirit  it  has  been 
reared,  or  upon  the  sons  who  have  exhibited  such  generous  measure  of  filial 
love  and  piety.  They  have  done  well  also  to  invite  to  a  share  in  their  trib- 
ute those  who  represent  the  Commonwealth,  the  federal  government,  the 
town,  and  so  many  departments  of  public  industry,  and  who,  by  their  presence 
here  in  this  large,  intelligent,  and  distinguished  gathering,  pay  almost  a  more 
striking  tribute  to  the  brave  spirit  who  has  gone. 

"  Oakes  Ames  sat  in  the  council  of  John  A.  Andrew,  and  helped  him  fight 
the  good  fight  for  freedom.  Transferred  to  the  national  councils,  it  was  the 
power  of  his  will  and  genius  that  conquered  the  snows  and  peaks  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  put  an  iron  girdle  round  about  the  American  continent  in 


Dedication.  61 

forty  minutes.  It  was  a  gigantic  work,  which  hardly  any  other  hand  was 
strong  enough  to  undertake,  and  to  which  to-day  no  man  who  knew  him 
doubts  that  he  brought  also  the  patriotic  purpose  of  binding  closer  the  Union, 
the  peril  of  which  he  had  just  seen,  and  putting  it  still  more  rapidly  forward 
on  the  road  of  its  mighty  development.  And  here,  too,  at  home,  behold  these 
memorials  of  his  benevolence  which  stand  all  around  us  in  this  his  native 
town,  bequeathed  by  him  to  his  sons  in  that  spirit  of  enterprise  which  is  their 
richest  and  best  inheritance,  and  consummated  by  them  in  these  comfortable 
homes  of  labor  and  this  magnificent  town  hall,  as  also  by  his  brother  Oliver 
— par  nobile  fratrum  —  and  that  brother's  family  in  this  graceful  church  and 
public  library;  all  these  buildings  standing  together  as  close,  and  devoted 
as  truly  to  the  public  good,  as  the  generous  families  whose  public  spirit  has 
erected  them.  How  significant !  What  a  compendium  of  American  history  are 
these  wondrous  American  lives !  —  the  early  struggles ;  the  common-school 
education  ;  the  apprenticeship  to  an  humble  trade  ;  the  blacksmith's  swinging 
arm  ;  the  best  pride  of  New  England  blood  and  ancestry  ;  the  institution  of 
special  lines  of  manufacture  and  art ;  their  steady  enlargement ;  the  out- 
growth then  of  larger  purposes ;  the  growing  interest  in  the  public  weal  and 
progress ;  the  respect  won  from  fellow-citizens  ;  the  elevation  to  high  place 
and  opportunity ;  the  ultimate  conquering  of  fortune ;  and  the  crowning 
achievement  of  success  and  a  name.  It  is  a  tribute,  as  are  this  occasion  and 
building,  not  to  American  wealth,  but  to  American  worth  and  American 
growth. 

"  Yet  let  me  turn  again  and  congratulate  the  sons  who,  mindful  at  once  of 
good  taste  and  of  utility,  have  paid  this  tribute  of  their  filial  affection  and 
gratitude  to  the  father,  whom  none  could  know  as  they  knew  him,  and 
whose  heart,  if  ever  the  sorrows  which  fall  on  all  weighed  it  down,  found 
life  worth  living  in  their  love  and  in  a  loyalty  which,  surviving  the  grave, 
holds  no  trust  so  sacred  as  the  honor  of  his  good  name,  —  the  father's  mem- 
ory, —  the  memory  of  him  who,  remembering  his  own  boyhood,  determined 
that  ours  should  lack  no  help  that  he  could  give  it ;  who  stood  to  our  youth 
the  very  soul  of  honor  and  nobility  ;  who  led  us  by  the  hand  ;  who  taught  us 
our  first  lessons ;  whose  heart,  as  now  so  well  we  know,  yearned  toward  us 
with  so  much  hope  and  pride  and  longing ;  the  greeting  smile  of  whose  face 
and  the  clasp  of  whose  hand  come  back  to  us  in  dreams ;  and  whom  death 


62  Dedication. 

even  takes  not  from  us,  but  only  the  more  clearly  reveals  to  us  as  the  truest 
friend  we  ever  knew  !  We  cannot  all  erect  to  a  father's  memory  such  a  mon- 
ument as  this.  "With  most  of  us  it  is  a  modest  headstone,  and  the  green  turf 
wet  with  our  tears.  But  we  can  all  share  in  the  feelings  that  have  given 
birth  to  this  magnificent  memorial :  not  a  cumbrous  and  curious  obelisk,  fan- 
tastically cut  with  characters  that  time  shall  shatter  and  future  ages  be  unable 
to  decipher ;  not  a  cold,  forbidding  mausoleum,  suggestive  of  death  and  decay, 
and  rotting  into  the  earth  ;  not  a  monumental  arch,  to  which  the  idle  creep- 
ing ivy  clings,  and  through  which  howl  the  barren  winds,  but  a  great  hall, 
warm  with  life  and  activity,  for  the  meeting  of  townsmen  and  free  citizens, 
where  the  public  interest,  which  so  stirred  the  heart  of  Oakes  Ames,  shall 
have  voice ;  where  the  welfare  of  the  people  shall  be  promoted ;  where  thrifty 
industry  shall  send  its  representatives  ;  where  refining  amusements  shall  de- 
light them ;  where  orators  shall  speak,  and  song  and  music  swell ;  and  where 
he  and  his  sons  shall  still  live  for  years  to  come  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of 
their  native  town,  and  in  the  larger  and  more  enlightened  life  to  which  his 
and  their  works  have  so  largely  contributed."  [Applause.] 

After  the  applause  with  which  the  speech  of  Governor  Long  was 
received  had  subsided,  the  chairman  introduced  to  the  assembly  "  one 
of  the  illustrious  sons  of  Massachusetts,  to  whom  has  been  confided 
many  trusts,  both  State  and  National,  all  of  which  he  has  discharged 
with  conspicuous  fidelity  and  ability,  Honorable  George  S.  Boutwell." 
He  was  received  with  very  warm  demonstrations  of  welcome,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  speak  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  think  myself  fortunate,  Mr.  President,  and  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that 
for  a  period  of  about  twenty  years  I  enjoyed,  first  the  acquaintance,  and  then 
the  friendship,  of  Mr.  Oakes  Ames.  And  again  I  think  myself  fortunate  that 
now,  after  several  years  more  have  passed  since  the  day  of  his  death,  I  am  able 
to  join  with  his  family,  his  townsmen,  the  chief  magistrate  and  principal  officers 
of  the  Commonwealth  that  he  always  venerated,  and  for  a  time  represented,  in 
that  just  tribute  to  his  character,  his  service,  and  his  memory  which,  for  a 
moment,  was  denied  him  by  an  excited  and,  in  some  respects,  misdirected  pub- 
lic opinion. 

"  He  was  born  to  an  inheritance  of  active  business.     He  accepted  its  duties 


Dedication.  63 

and  administered  its  trusts  with  a  manly  fidelity  and  comprehensive  intelli- 
gence which  advanced  yet  higher  the  already  honorable  name  of  his  family. 

"  He  came  to  active  life  when  great  fortunes  were  less  frequent  than  they 
now  are,  but  associated  with  his  brother,  Mr.  Oliver  Ames,  almost  equally 
well  known.  [Applause.]  His  house  acquired  vast  wealth  for  the  time> 
and  established  a  credit  whose  limits  were  not  marked  by  the  boundaries  of 
States.  In  the  use  of  that  wealth  he  was  liberal  and  wise  in  private  and  pub- 
lic charities  and  contributions,  and  generous  to  excess  in  the  aids  he  extended 
to  business  associates  and  acquaintances.  He  was  tolerant  of  hostility,  for- 
getful of  injuries,  and  persistent  in  his  friendships.  Of  men  of  wealth  and 
capacity  for  action  he  was  among  the  first,  and  conspicuously  he  was  the  fore- 
most in  measuring  the  necessity  and  in  comprehending  the  feasibility  of  estab- 
lishing railway  communication  between  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  generous  endowment  made  by 
the  government  in  aid  of  that  undertaking,  whatever  credit  may  be  accorded 
to  his  associates,  —  and  much  credit  is  justly  due  to  them,  —  there  will  yet 
remain  the  fact  that  until  Mr.  Ames  assumed  responsibility  there  were  no 
clear  indications  that  the  work  would  be  completed.  [Applause.]  Upon  his 
own  broad  shoulders  he  laid  the  weight  of  that  vast  enterprise,  and  he 
assumed,  and  for  months  and  years  he  carried,  responsibilities  and  met  obli- 
gations altogether  beyond  the  capacity  of  ordinary  men.  The  magnitude  of 
the  undertaking  may  be  measured  and  the  honor  of  success  in  it  may  be 
estimated  by  the  circumstance  that,  since  Mr.  Ames  and  his  associates  showed 
the  way  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  corporations  and  men  plethoric  with  superfluous 
wealth  have  struggled  through  long  and  weary  years  to  overcome  the  obstacles 
they  found  in  their  path. 

"  No  other  public  measure,  advanced  and  completed  by  private  enterprise 
and  capital,  has  contributed  as  much  to  the  prosperity  of  the  United  States  as 
the  construction  of  the  railway  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Our  population  has 
thereby  been  increased  by  immigration,  the  area  of  agriculture  extended," 
towns  and  cities  created  on  both  sides  of  the  continent,  and  the  mountain  bar- 
rier to  harmony  and  union  broken  down.  So  essentially  did  Mr.  Ames  con- 
tribute to  these  results  that  their  history  cannot  be  written  without  honorable 
mention  of  his  name."  [Applause.] 

"  I  am  now  about  to  introduce  to  you,"  observed  the  chairman,  in 


64  Dedication. 

continuation  of  the  exercises,  "  a  gentleman  who,  like  '  The  Atlantic 
Monthly,'  is  *  devoted  to  literature,  art,  science,  and  politics,'  and  I 
also  understand  that  he  knows  a  little  of  theology,  —  Rev.  Edward 
Everett  Hale.'-' 

The  announcement  was  greeted  with  an  emphasis  of  approbation, 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Hale  came  forward,  and  responded  in  the  following 
remarks :  — 

"  It  seems  to  me,  Mr.  President,  that  perhaps  the  fittest  thing  I  can  say 
will  be  to  speak  of  a  single  detail  of  his  life,  —  the  detail  in  which,  as  it  hap- 
pened, I  made  his  personal  acquaintance.  But  when  I  look  at  the  young 
men  whom  I  see  at  the  other  side  of  the  room,  men  whose  hair  is  not  as  gray 
as  those  I  see  in  front  of  me,  I  am  well  aware  that  I  speak  of  a  condition  of 
things  and  a  time  which  to  these  young  men  may  seem  unintelligible.  I 
knew  him  first  as  I  knew  his  brother,  in  the  direction  of  the  Emigrant  Aid 
Company,  —  a  company  formed  to  direct  the  movement  of  New  Englanders  to 
Kansas.  Generally,  with  us,  emigration  is  left  to  take  care  of  itself.  This 
company,  therefore,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  exceptions  to  the  whole 
policy  of  this  country.  It  really  led  to  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war,  and, 
as  I  believe,  led  to  the  victory  in  that  war.  But  people  did  not  think  so 
small  of  it  then,  young  men,  as  we  do  now.  At  the  moment  when  the  terri- 
tory west  of  Missouri  was  thrown  open  to  emigration,  it  was  a  wonder  here 
what  devil  of  devils  opened  up  the  subject  of  the  national  cause  of  slavery 
again,  when  it  had  been  set  at  peace  so  entirely  in  the  Southern  interest.  The 
hands  of  the  North  were  tied,  they  were  chained,  when  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
were  all  of  a  sudden  thrown  open  to  emigration,  Northern  or  Southern.  We 
know  now  what  threw  open  Kansas.  It  was  the  selfishness  of  a  few  hundred 
planters  in  Western  Missouri,  but  we  did  not  know  it  then.  Those  men  who 
ruled  the  country,  Jefferson  Davis  and  the  rest,  could  never  understand,  they 
did  not  understand  until  the  day  when  war  began,  why  rich  men  like  Oakes 
Ames  and  Oliver  Ames,  like  Martin  Brimmer  and  Amos  Lawrence  and  Will- 
iam Claflin,  and  like  gentlemen  who  are  sitting  here  around  me,  men  far  off 
in  Eastern  Massachusetts,  in  comfortable  life,  should  care  whether  there  was 
a  '  nigger  '  more  or  less  in  Kansas  or  in  Nebraska.  It  was  a  thing  you  never 
could  drive  into  their  heads  that  we  had  any  concern  in  that  matter. 


Dedication.  65 

"  All  through  that  country  this  little  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  in  which  Mr. 
Ames  was  a  Director,  was  represented  as  a  gigantic  corporation,  with  five 
millions  of  capital.  This  was  at  a  time  when  it  would  have  been  found  diffi- 
cult to  raise  even  five  dollars  it  needed  for  its  expenditure,  if  it  had  not  been 
for  such  men  as  he,  willing  to  draw  his  checks  to  the  treasurer's  order. 
[Applause.]  Through  all  that  time  there  was  this  mystery  of  mysteries,  why 
anybody  here  should  interest  himself  about  this  matter  ;  not  merely  why 
those  young  men  of  Northern  blood  could  go  to  distant  Kansas  to  die  in  the 
battles  of  freedom,  but  why  there  was  a  force  behind  them  here  that  sent  them 
upon  their  way.  Well,  sir,  you  and  I  know  why  it  was,  for  we  know  what 
was  the  secret  of  this  good,  true,  pure  man's  life. 

"  I  am  told,  every  now  and  then,  as  one  man  dies  and  another,  that  that  man 
is  the  last  of  the  Puritans.  I  am  glad  to  say  I  do  not  think  he  was  the  last 
of  the  Puritans.  I  hope  I  am  looking  at  a  good  many  young  Puritans  stand- 
ing round  the  hall,  who  know  that  the  first  thing  in  life  is  to  keep  their  bodies 
pure,  and  that  it  is  only  the  pure  in  heart  who  see  God.  [Applause.]  But 
it  is  perfectly  true  that  Oakes  Ames  was  one  of  those  men.  [Applause.] 

"  This  great  name  of  Ames  was  not  a  name  to  be  remembered  for  oratory 
only.  It  was  not  to  go  down  to  posterity  with  the  remembrance  alone  of 
Fisher  Ames,  the  kinsman  of  our  friends,  and  of  that  matchless  eloquence  of 
his  in  the  hall  of  Congress,  —  an  eloquence  so  great,  you  know,  that  his  associates 
adjourned  over  one  night  because  they  knew  they  were  under  the  fascination 
of  the  man,  and  they  were  afraid  to  vote  until  they  had  slept  upon  his  speech. 
It  was  not  to  go  down  to  posterity  connected  with  the  great  life  work  of 
any  who  preceded  him ;  but  the  name  of  Ames  was  forever  to  be  associated 
with  that  patriotism  which  acts  for  the  right  wherever  the  right  has  a  field  or 
a  purpose.  It  was  that  which  brought  him  into  what  men  called  a  hopeless 
cause.  What  was  a  little  corporation  handling  $30,000  to  do  against  the 
matchless  organization  which  upheld  slave  labor  and  slave-holding  industry 
through  the  South  ?  It  had  the  power  of  omnipotence ;  that  was  all.  [Ap- 
plause.] It  had  the  power  of  eternal  right ;  that  was  all.  It  had  such  men 
as  he,  who  believed  in  the  right,  first,  second,  last,  and  always.  It  had  in  him 
one  of  the  Puritans  to  back  it.  God  be  praised,  it  had  more  than  one. 

"  I  say  it  was  in  that  dark  hour  that  I  made  this  man's  acquaintance  first,  and 
you  who  hear  me  know  that  the  disposition  he  showed  then,  the  willingness  to 
5 


66  Dedication. 

spend  fortune,  to  spend  time,  to  spend  health,  and  to  give  life  at  last,  to  carry 
forward  what  was  right,  was  the  leading  element  of  his  character.  It  ran  all 
the  way  through  his  life.  Yes,  he  knew  how  to  spend  money  as  well  as  any 
man.  He  knew  what  could  be  secured  with  money  as  well  as  any  man,  but 
always  there  was  the  question,  '  What  can  I  do  with  it  ? '  '  Why  has  God 
given  it  to  me  ?  '  '  What  is  the  great  moral  purpose  which  can  be  advanced 
in  this  or  that  expenditure  ?  ' 

"  Since  these  invitations  were  extended  to  us.  and  I  knew  we  were  to  have 
the  good  fortune  of  being  here  together  to-day,  naturally  my  mind  has  run 
back  to  many  interviews  with  him  upon  matters  in  which  he  was  always  curi- 
ously interested.  These  things,  as  your  Excellency  knows,  were  apt  to  be 
intertwined  with  the  subject  of  education  everywhere.  It  was  not  simply  this 
town  of  Easton  that  he  wanted  to  have  well  provided  with  schools,  but  the 
education  of  the  whole  country  was  a  matter  very  near  to  his  heart,  and  he 
took  broad  and  large  views  of  the  method  of  that  education.  He  was  used 
always  to  converse  about  it,  and  you  found  him  acquainted  with  the  subject 
in  details  where  you  had  not  expected  it.  I  have  fancied  there  was  something 
in  the  very  nature  of  the  business  which  he  followed,  bringing  him  into  rela- 
tion with  working  men  of  all  parts  of  the  country,  as  some  men  of  New  Eng- 
land are  not  brought,  which  gave  him  a  broader  view  of  the  necessities  of  the 
country  than  all  New  England  men  of  business  habitually  entertain.  Of  this 
I  am  quite  sure :  that  while  he  always  desired  to  promote  such  local  interests 
as  these  which  make  him  remembered  at  North  Easton,  his  large-heartedness 
did  not  stop  here,  nor  with  this  town,  or  this  county,  or  this  Massachusetts. 
His  interest  extended  to  the  whole  United  States  of  America,  which  he  was 
determined  to  bind  together,  and  make  strong  and  enduring  forever.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

"  Among  the  sarcasms  of  a  dark  day,  which  has  been  alluded  to,  when 
men  who  were  in  all  regards  his  inferiors  were  bent  on  destroying  his  reputa- 
tion, one  casual  phrase  of  his  was  cited  with  many  a  bitter  sneer,  and  in  the 
cruel  levity  of  defamation  it  became  a  sort  of  proverb.  It  was  said  that  he 
said  of  some  expenditure  of  money  of  his  own  that  he  *  placed  it  where 
it  would  do  most  good.'  [Applause.]  I  dare  say  he  said  that.  It  would 
be  quite  like  him  to  say  that.  I  could  not  but  think  to-day,  as  I  came 
down  here  in  the  train,  that,  whether  it  was  spoken  in  jest  or  in  earnest, 
any  man  might  be  proud  to  have  spoken  it,  unconsciously,  spontaneously, 


Dedication.  67 

as  a  thing  of  course.  I  wish  to  God,  sir,  that  it  might  become  a  sacred 
proverb  in  our  lives.  Your  Excellency  knows,  I  think,  that  I  shall  leave  no 
fortune  to  my  children.  I  shall  leave  to  them  a  memory  of  poor  abilities,  but 
of  certain  gifts  that  God  has  given  me  (for  God  has  given  certain  gifts  to  all 
of  us).  And  certainly  I  shall  ask  nothing  better  than  to  have  carved  upon 
the  slate  stone  above  my  head,  '  Such  gifts  as  God  gave  him  he  placed  where 
they  could  do  the  most  good.'  [Applause.]  That  is  the  Puritan's  wish  and 
it  should  be  the  Puritan's  epitaph. 

"  As  for  these  various  currents  of  opinion  which  have  been  alluded  to,  I  am 
afraid  too  much  has  been  said  of  them  already.  This  is  but  the  drift  seaweed 
that  floats  here  and  there  upon  the  current.  A  man  is  affected  by  it,  uncon- 
sciously perhaps,  if  he  is  fool  enough  to  read  the  newspapers ;  the  chatter  of  the 
gulls  above  our  heads,  which  are  now  diving  for  a  fish,  now  fighting  for  a  bit 
of  cork  upon  the  water,  and  always  undertake  to  teach  us,  in  language  which  is 
too  apt  to  be  unintelligible,  what  they  think  of  virtue  and  truth  and  honesty. 

"  I  see  that  bit  of  history  so  often  that  I  take  from  it  but  one  lesson  ;  for, 
as  it  happens,  I  pass  the  weeks  of  summer  at  the  seashore  near  Point  Judith. 
We  have  a  wide  outlook  over  the  sea  there,  but  there,  as  in  the  rest  of  life,  it 
often  happens  that  a  dense  fog  settles  down  over  sea  and  shore,  and  a  man 
sees  nothing.  He  must  walk  by  faith.  Nay,  it  will  happen  that  a  southerly 
storm  shall  set  in  and  all  the  stores  of  heaven  shall  be  unlocked,  the  winds 
shall  tear  up  the  waves  and  the  waves  shall  tear  up  the  sands,  so  that  even 
the  curves  of  the  beaches  shall  be  altered,  and  the  breaches  in  them  by  which 
the  proud  waters  make  their  way  to  the  sea.  But  after  such  a  commotion  of 
the  elements,  the  wind  shall  come  round  into  the  northwest,  and  the  sky  shall 
be  clear  blue  without  a  cloud,  and  the  eye  can  pierce  into  the  infinite.  You 
walk  down  upon  the  beach  to  find  the  piles  of  seaweed  which  were  flung 
upon  it  by  the  gale,  to  find  that  those  howling  gulls  are  blown  off  you  know 
not  where.  The  channels  in  the  sand  are  changed.  The  currents  of  the 
water  are  changed,  but,  Mr.  President,  there  is  one  thing  which  is  not  changed. 
There  is  one  rock,  and  that  is  always  there.  [Applause.] 

"  Our  friend,  the  architect  of  this  building,  whose  deserved  praises  are  on 
every  lip  to-day,  has  fully  understood  the  history  of  the  life  which  this  hall 
is  to  commemorate,  and  has  fitly  expressed  it  in  visible  symbol.  As  we  en- 
tered by  that  grand  stairway,  buttressed  as  it  is  on  the  eternal  primitive  rock, 
it  was  impossible  not  to  think  of  the  great  inscription  which  is  the  motto  of 


68  Dedication. 

our  friend's  life,  and  which  for  all  such  lives  was  written  down  more  than 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  It  was  of  such  men  as  he,  and  such  a  life  as 
his,  that  it  was  written, '  The  rain  descended  and  the  floods  came  and  the  winds 
blew,  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  upon  a  rock.'  Those  words  are  the 
inscription  for  this  hall."  [Applause.] 

"  There  is  but  about  an  hour  left  for  the  remaining  exercises,"  said 
the  chairman,  "  before  the  train  leaves.  I  have  seven  gentlemen  on 
my  list  of  speakers,  besides  some  others  I  would  be  glad  to  call  upon ; 
and  in  order  to  enable  those  seven  to  remodel  their  speeches  and  cut 
them  down  a  little,  we  will  call  upon  the  band  to  play  a  few  minutes." 
[Laughter  and  applause.] 

An  excellent  selection  formed  the  ready  response  of  the  band,  at 
the  end  of  which  the  chairman  continued  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  next  gentleman  whom  I  shall  introduce  to  you  is  one  who 
enjoys  the  privilege  of  having  free  passes  over  all  the  railroads  of  the 
Commonwealth,  which  is  a  source  of  great  joy  to  those  who  get  them, 
and  of  corresponding  disgruntlement  to  those  who  fail,  —  Judge 
Thomas  Russell." 

That  gentleman,  on  presenting  himself  to  the  assembly,  was  greeted 
with  prolonged  applause,  after  which  he  proceeded  with  the  accom- 
panying address :  — 

"MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  FRIENDS,  —  I  gladly  take  this  opportunity  to  join 
in  the  chorus  of  praise  of  this  magnificent  building,  and  of  the  great  and  good 
man  to  whose  memory  it  is  dedicated.  This  building  is  not  the  first  proof  on 
this  spot  that  public  spirit  and  munificence  may  pass  by  inheritance  from  fa- 
ther to  son.  Nor  are  these  the  only  good  qualities  transmitted  by  descent. 
The  workshops  in  the  valley  and  the  elegant  structures  above  are  testimonials 
to  the  worth  of  the  simple,  manly  virtues  which  are  the  granite  foundations  of 
New  England  life.  Industry,  frugality,  patience,  integrity,  —  these  were  the 
patrimony  of  the  first  Oliver  Ames,  and  he  gave  them  unimpaired  to  his  chil- 
dren. [Applause.]  It  is  among  my  earliest  recollections  that  I  was  brought 
here  by  my  father  to  see  what  one  determined,  upright,  unaided  man  could 
do.  We  hear  of  men  who  dare  to  call  a  spade  a  spade.  There  are  too  many 


Dedication.  69 

men  who  dare  to  call  a  shovel  that  which  is  not  a  shovel.  Oliver  Ames  was 
not  such  a  man.  A  Boston  merchant  told  me  that  he  made  a  wagon  jour- 
ney of  a  thousand  miles  in  South  Africa,  and  among  all  the  Boers  and  Bush- 
men and  half-breeds  —  and  some  of  those  half-breeds  have  proved  very  stal- 
wart of  late  —  he  never  found  men  so  ignorant  or  kraals  so  small  that  they 
didn't  have  and  appreciate  Ames's  shovels.  To  them  the  mystic  letters  'Oli- 
ver Ames  &  Sons '  meant  honest  materials  and  faithful  work.  It  was  more 
wonderful  because  they  were  not  used  to  it.  From  another  quarter  they  re- 
ceive guns  that  go  off  at  the  wrong  time  and  at  the  wrong  place  ;  rum  that 
will  neither  cheer  nor  inebriate  (that  would  n't  trouble  any  of  this  family)  ; 
knives  that  will  not  scalp,  —  no,  not  even  scalp  a  railroad  ticket.  [Laughter.] 
It  is  pleasant,  in  this  age  of  shams,  to  know  that  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
in  Australia,  in  New  Zealand,  at  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  in  the  farthest  isl- 
ands of  the  sea,  this  old  Massachusetts  brand,  —  this  Old  Colony  brand,  — 
stands  all  the  world  over  for  thorough  work,  tough  as  ash  and  true  as  steel. 
[Applause.]  Remembering  the  part  which  spade  and  shovel  play  in  civilizing 
the  earth,  an  honest  implement  of  this  kind  seems  to  be  a  fit  emblem  of  prog- 
ress. And  our  friend,  with  his  faithful  brother,  took  a  first  rank  among  the 
leaders  of  industrial  enterprise. 

"  The  story  of  the  Pacific  Union  Railroad  has  been  often  told,  but  it  will 
always  be  a  new  wonder  that  this  stupendous  scheme  was  fashioned  during 
the  stress  of  a  civil  war  that  threatened  the  existence  of  our  government. 
As  I  think  of  Oakes  Ames  leaving  his  war-work  at  the  State  House,  and  plan- 
ning in  the  midst  of  defeats  for  this  great  triumph,  —  setting  his  will  against 
the  strength  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  his  faith  above  the  fears  of  mill- 
ions, —  I  am  reminded  of  a  grand  passage  from  John  Milton  (which  I  will  not 
quote),  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  beleaguered  city  of  London,  with  its  rivers 
blockaded,  the  enemy  daily  threatening  its  walls,  yet  with  its  people  studying, 
discussing,  inventing  things  never  discussed  or  invented  before;  showing  con- 
fidence in  their  cause  and  contempt  for  the  enemy  like  that  of  the  Roman,  who 
paid  full  price  for  the  land  on  which  the  besieging  force  of  the  invader  was 
encamped.  So  did  our  friend  risk  his  fortune  to  improve  and  adorn  the  re- 
public, which  seemed  to  many  stricken  unto  death. 

"  And  then  we  recall  those  other  words  of  Milton,  which  need  little  change 
for  application  to-day,  and  I  say  to  our  departed  friend  as  Milton  said  to  his 
friend,  — 


70  Dedication. 

"  '  Thou  chief  of  men, 

Whom  through  a  cloud  not  of  war  only,  but  detractions  rude, 
Guided  by  faith  and  matchless  fortitude, 
To  high  success  thy  glorious  way  hast  ploughed. 

Peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renowned  than  war.'    [Applause.] 

"  This  hall  needs  no  further  adornment ;  but  if  anything  ever  should  be 
added,  let  it  be  an  historical  picture  of  that  scene  when  Abraham  Lincoln,  hav- 
ing signed  the  contract  for  building  the  road,  threw  his  right  arm  across  the 
broad  shoulders  of  Oakes  Ames,  and  exclaimed,  '  Your  name,  Mr.  Ames,  will 
live  longer  in  history  than  mine.'  That  was  too  much  ;  for  as  long  as  our 
race  honors  faith  and  loves  simplicity  and  admires  devotion,  so  long  will  the 
name  of  Lincoln  be  remembered  and  honored  among  men.  [Applause.]  But 
it  is  true  that,  while  generation  after  generation  of  travelers  shall  pass  the 
summit  of  the  Union  Pacific,  they  will  see  the  calm  features  of  the  two  broth- 
ers, as  they  look  down  forever  upon  their  mighty  work  ;  and  they  will  see  not 
only  a  memorial  of  the  men,  but  a  memorial  of  the  faith  and  confidence  which 
the  people  of  America  had  in  those  men. 

[To  Mr.  Ames.]  "  Your  father  afterward  fell  upon  evil  days  and  evil 
tongues,  but  among  those  who  criticised  him  and  those  who  betrayed  him  — 
among  all  who  knew  him,  friend  or  foe  —  there  was  not  one  man  who  be- 
lieved that  Oakes  Ames  ever  had  or  ever  wished  to  have  in  his  purse  one  dis- 
honest dollar.  I  recall  the  day  when  George  B.  Upton  turned  from  the  bul- 
letin board  —  George  B.  Upton,  as  upright  a  merchant  and  as  true  a  man  as 
ever  lived  —  and  said  to  me,  '  Judge,  Oakes  Ames  has  been  condemned,  and 
you  or  I,  if  we  had  it,  would  trust  him  with  uncounted  gold  to-day.'  The 
"basest  of  the  base  never  dared  to  doubt  his  personal  honor.  [Applause.] 

"  I  have  gladly  added  my  feeble  tribute  to  the  precious  offerings  of  the  day. 
But  our  eloquent  friends  will  permit  me  to  say  that  the  complete  eulogy  of 
your  father  cannot  be  given  in  the  absence  of  the  man  who  knew  him  best  and 
loved  him  most.  We  shall  not  know  all  that  could  be  said  of  Oakes  Ames, 
because  Governor  Andrew  is  silent  in  the  grave.  It  is  something  to  remem- 
ber of  a  departed  friend  that  he  gained  and  kept  the  confidence  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  the  love  of  John  A.  Andrew."  [Applause.] 

The  chairman  :  "  I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you 
Hon.  Robert  R.  Bishop,  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate." 


Dedication.  71 

After  the  applause  had  subsided,  President  Bishop  spoke  to  the  as- 
sembly as  follows :  — 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT,  —  How  well  this  massive  structure  represents  the  char- 
acter of  the  strong  and  noble  man  it  commemorates  you  know.  He  was  the 
true  product  of  a  New  England  town,  and  his  sons  have  built  in  his  honor  a 
house  for  the  town,  a  gathering-place  for  independent  men  in  the  business  of 
self-government,  a  home  for  the  town  meeting,  as  the  fittest  memorial  to  speak 
of  him  to  coming  generations.  He  has  many  memorials.  Many  honors  rest 
upon  his  name  and  upon  his  career,  —  rest  as  the  sunlight  rests  through  the 
windows  of  the  building  which  his  sons  have  given  as  a  crown  upon  his  name 
and  his  memory.  This  town  which  he  loved  ;  the  neighboring  city,  so  full  of 
the  great  power  of  his  business  activity  ;  the  State,  whose  institutions  he 
cherished  ;  the  arms  of  steel  which,  both  in  a  commercial  and  political  sense, 
bind  the  nation  together  and  render  it  inseparable,  laid  across  the  continent 
by  his  indomitable  will,  his  steady  faith,  and  his  unflagging  perseverance,  and 
over  which,  from  the  top  of  the  highest  peak  of  the  mountains,  his  face  and 
that  of  his  noble  brother,  carved  in  medallion,  are  soon  to  look,  —  all  speak 
his  worth,  and  tell  with  reverence  of  his  memory. 

"  But  no  one,  and  not  all  of  these  memorials,  not  even  though  erected  by 
the  pious  hands  of  affection  and  watched  with  the  tender  care  and  solicitude  of 
children,  are  his  truest  and  fullest  monument.  Better  than  these  is  the  con- 
sciousness which  we  have  of  the  worth  and  nobility  of  character  of  Oakes 
Ames.  His  proudest  and  most  perfect  monument  is  in  our  hearts,  in  our  deep 
sense  of  what  he  was.  When  we  think  of  his  massive  mould  in  heart  and 
spirit  no  less  than  in  body,  of  his  strength  and  simplicity,  of  his  inflexibility 
and  patience  amid  great  undertakings  and  the  heaviest  difficulties;  when 
we  remember  the  amplitude  of  the  unselfish  works  accomplished  by  him  for 
mankind,  we  say  of  him,  — 

" '  Such  was  our  friend ;  formed  on  the  good  old  plan, 
A  true  and  brave  and  downright  honest  man/ 

"  Such  a  monument  will  indeed  endure.  Every  memento  which  affection 
can  rear  may  pass  away  ;  the  most  enduring  work  of  human  skill  to  his  mem- 
ory may  perish ;  from  the  tablets  on  the  Sierras  his  lineaments  will  crumble 
and  fade  and  disappear  ;  while  continually  in  the  generations  to  come 


72  Dedication. 

" '  Death  will  mould  in  calm  completeness 
The  statue  of  his  life.'  " 

[Applause.] 

The  chairman  next  presented  Hon.  Charles  J.  Noyes,  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Rspresentatives,  who  made  the  following  address  :  — 

"  I  am  grateful,  Mr.  President,  for  the  opportunity  to  participate  on  this 
occasion.  I  cannot  hope  to  add  much ;  I  come  only  to  lay  a  single  flower  upon 
the  altar  of  grateful  remembrance.  Nor  do  I  rise  in  any  spirit  of  ambitious 
panegyric.  This  noble  memorial,  erected  by  filial  affection,  and  dedicated  in 
loving  friendship,  with  simple  ceremonies,  is  far  higher  service.  These  ear- 
nest faces  of  friends  and  neighbors  are  a  tribute  more  eloquent  than  any  pos- 
sible speech  of  mine.  Nay,  this  lovely  New  England  village,  so  typical  of 
all  that  is  best  in  our  New  England  life,  utters  to-day  testimony  beyond  any 
phrase  my  lips  can  coin.  How  its  very  industry  recalls  the  active  life  on 
which  all  our  thoughts  are  centred !  How  the  past  returns  unbidden !  The 
mighty  engine-throb  seems  but  the  pulsation  of  his  tireless  spirit ;  the  forge- 
glow  but  the  flash  of  his  unconquerable  zeal ;  the  town  itself  but  the  vision 
of  his  sublime  faith  peopling  the  trackless  wilderness,  and  covering  those 
mighty  western  slopes  with  happy  homes.  [Applause.] 

"  I  rejoice  in  this  beautiful  memorial  of  filial  hearts  to  the  father.  I  rejoice 
that  hereafter  it  is  in  some  measure  a  testimony  to  the  illustrious  citizen.  As 
years  roll  on,  the  men  and  women  who  gather  within  these  walls  for  instruction 
or  amusement  will  find  ample  source  of  inspiration  and  encouragement  in  the 
manly  character,  brave  endeavor,  and  sublime  heroism  of  him  to  whose  mem- 
ory they  are  dedicated.  To  the  people  of  North  Easton  it  will  be  a  perpet- 
ual lesson  of  noble  daring  and  lofty  achievement.  And  yet  Oakes  Ames 
needs  no  monument  such  as  this.  No  towering  dome,  no  fretted  arch,  no 
frescoed  wall,  no  chiseled  stone,  is  required  to  perpetuate  the  story  of  his 
life.  No  architect  can  plan  or  science  build  a  nobler  memorial  than  that  his 
faith  made  possible.  The  great  highway  of  commerce  which  to-day  spans  the 
continent  and  links  two  oceans  is  a  monument  to  his  zeal,  his  devotion,  his 
heroism,  his  unalterable  belief  in  the  future  of  the  republic.  Many  have  left 
footprints  along  the  beaten  path  of  life,  but  few  have  made  a  more  enduring 
impression  on  the  growth  and  achievements  of  our  age  than  he  to  whom,  with 


Dedication.  73 

loyal  gratitude,  we  this  day  help  dedicate  these  walls.  In  the  service  of  great 
purposes  be  ours  a  patience  as  calm,  a  fortitude  as  stern,  and  a  faith  as  sublime 
as  his."  [Applause.] 

"  I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you,"  continued  the 
chairman,  "a  gentleman  who  for  several  years,  and  all  during  the 
war,  was  a  pastor  of  Mr.  Ames,  —  Rev.  C.  C.  Hussey,  of  Billerica." 

The  presentation  was  heartily  applauded,  and  Mr.  Hussey  ad- 
dressed the  assembled  multitude  in  these  words :  — 

"  I  should  exhibit  a  poorer  taste  and  poorer  judgment  than  I  really  think  I 
have,  if  I  at  this  time  detained  this  audience  more  than  a  very  few  minutes. 
I  am  very  glad  to  be  with  you,  friends,  on  this  occasion  ;  and  if  I  had  the 
time  I  would  like  to  turn  this  gathering,  for  a  very  few  minutes,  into  a  sort  of 
reunion  of  family  and  friends,  and  speak  of  some  of  the  things  that  of  course 
would  come  uppermost  in  my  mind  to-day. 

"  We  have  heard  almost  entirely  of  Mr.  Ames's  public  life.  It  is  the  friends 
who  stood  with  him,  side  by  side  there,  who  have  spoken  mostly.  The  brief 
word  I  have  to  say  is  in  a  different  direction.  Something  more  than  twenty 
years  ago  I  came  here  as  the  first  settled  pastor  of  the  society  now  worship- 
ing in  the  elegant  church,  the  gift  of  Mr.  Ames's  brother,  Hon.  Oliver  Ames, 
of  whom  I  like  to  speak,  of  exceeding  precious  memory  to  many  of  you,  and 
certainly  to  my  own  heart.  It  was  a  day  of  small  things  then.  It  was  a  day 
that  tried  men's  souls.  We  were  just  entering  on  the  war  of  the  rebellion, 
and  I  remember  how  we  stood  side  by  side  in  that  old  hall.  Some  of  you  re- 
member it.  It  had  no  plastering,  and  was  quite  unlike  this  in  its  appoint- 
ments. But  if  there  was  no  plastering  qn  the  walls,  you  worked  hard,  you  of 
this  family,  and  you  of  this  village  ;  and  I  well  remember  how  this  brother 
and  the  younger  members  of  the  family  stood  side  by  side  with  every  effort, 
not  only  to  bless  and  save  the  country,  but  to  do  all  that  could  be  done  to 
heal  the  wounds  of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  who  were  suffering  in  that 
time. 

"  Our  friend  had  his  humorous  side.  I  well  remember  the  first  time  I  met 
him  socially  after  I  came  here.  Some  one  said,  '  I  understand,  Mr.  Ames, 
that  you  heard  something  like  seventy-five  ministers  before  you  asked  Mr. 
Hussey  to  remain  with  you,  and  I  think  that  was  rather  complimentary  to  Mr. 


74  Dedication. 

Hussey.'  We  were  sitting  on  the  sofa,  and  Mr.  Ames,  in  his  kind,  familiar 
manner,  put  his  hand  on  my  knee,  and  said,  '  Oh,  no,  no ;  that  was  not  it  at 
all.  But  you  see  we  had  heard  a  good  many  ministers.  We  had  got  tired, 
and  were  glad  to  take  anybody  that  came  along  then.'  [Laughter.] 

"  I  well  remember,  and  I  like  to  speak  of  it  here,  the  noble  stand  that  Mr. 
Ames  took  for  the  cause  of  temperance.  [Applause.]  I  remember  his  ex- 
ample, the  influence  of  his  life,  and  the  atmosphere  that  surrounded  him.  I 
am  glad  to  know  that  his  principles  have  descended  as  a  patrimony  in  the  fam- 
ily, and  bless  the  village  and  bless  the  country  to-day.  [Applause.]  I  re- 
member one  incident,  and  ask  you  to  excuse  the  tenderness  of  it,  if  it  touches 
your  hearts  as  it  did  mine.  One  night  I  went  into  the  office,  and  as  I  sat 
there  Mr.  Ames  looked  up  at  me  with  a  very  significant  expression,  then  put 
his  hand  on  his  forehead,  and  said,  '  Mr.  Hussey,  I  begin  to  feel  a  pressure 
there.'  That  was  the  beginning  of  the  end,  and  I  went  home  and  said  to  my 
wife  that  at  last  the  strong  man,  so  strong  in  very  many  respects,  had  begun 
to  break  and  begun  to  bow.  But,  friends,  I  think  to-day  not  of  the  bending 
and  bowing  and  breaking,  but  of  the  getting  ready  to  pass  on  to  a  higher  and 
grander  life,  where  all  clouds  that  gathered  about  him  here  were  to  be  dis- 
persed and  are  dispersed,  as  they  will  be  below.  The  real  gold  of  that  char- 
acter will  come  out  without  alloy,  revealed  on  high,  and  also  revealed  and 
finally  read  and  known  of  all  men. 

"  It  is  a  good  work  that  you  have  done.  Think  of  it,  —  children  building  a 
monument  to  a  father's  memory !  It  is  not  every  father's  memory  that  we 
want  to  build  a  monument  to,  and  it  is  not  every  family  that  wants  to  build 
monuments  to  its  own  honored  name  that  has  the  ability ;  fewer,  perhaps, 
have  the  disposition :  but  here  they  are  all  combined.  You  have  done  a 
graceful  and  noble  thing,  and  we  are  all  glad  to  come  and  rejoice  with  you  on 
this  occasion,  and  find  this  building  so  nice  in  all  its  appointments,  which  will 
stand  not  only  as  a  monument  to  Oakes  Ames's  memory,  but  will  stand  here 
as  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  wonderful  educator  in  this  community. 

"  We  sometimes  hear  it  said  there  is  danger  in  our  country  in  the  tendency 
of  property  to  gather  into  a  very  few  hands.  But  there  are  two  sides  to  that. 
When  I  look  over  this  village,  and  recall  how  it  was  when  I  first  looked  at  it, 
and  see  what  it  is  to-day  in  its  outward  appearance,  the  business  that  has 
sprung  up  here  and  which  blesses  the  people,  and  think  that  this  is  the  prod- 
uct of  the  accumulation  of  property  in  a  few  hands,  then  I  see  the  other  side 


Dedication.  75 

of  this  matter,  and  I  say  the  main  point  is  what  kind  of  hands  the  property 
gets  into.  If  it  can  get  into  the  hands  of  people  who  build  halls  and  churches, 
such  people  as  I  am  proud  and  grateful  to  reckon  among  my  former  parish- 
ioners, or  such  as  I  reckon  now  among  my  present  parishioners,  then  I  feel  it 
is  well,  and  the  country  is  safe  so  long  as  it  has  that  sanctifying  influence. 

"  To  the  people  of  this  community  I  address  this  last  additional  word :  You 
have  these  objects  of  beauty  and  taste  amongst  you.  Live  up  to  them.  Open 
your  minds  and  hearts  to  all  their  grand,  elevating  influence ;  and  so  live  as 
to  make  these  things  a  joy  and  a  blessing  forever."  [Applause.] 

The  chairman  next  introduced  Mr.  Henry  B.  Blackwell,  who  spoke 
as  follows :  — 

"MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  —  For  nearly  forty  years 
I  have  had  the  honor  and  the  pleasure  of  knowing  the  brothers  Oakes  and 
Oliver  Ames.  We  have  heard  to-day  how  their  reputations  stand  in  the  in- 
terior of  Africa.  I  cannot  go  quite  so  far  from  home  as  that,  and  yet  when 
I  first  knew  them,  living  as  I  did  in  Ohio,  I  was  about  as  far  from  the  place 
where  we  stand  to-day,  measured  by  time,  as  this  now  is  from  San  Francisco  ; 
and,  measured  by  difficulty  of  access,  a  good  deal  farther.  I  remember  a 
good  many  ups  and  downs  in  the  currency  of  the  country,  but  there  is  one 
thing  which  has  known  no  ups  and  downs  since  that  time  ;  for  then,  as  now, 
the  Ames  shovel  was  legal  tender  in  every  part  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
[Applause.] 

"  I  have  but  a  few  words  to  add  to  those  we  have  heard  this  afternoon. 
In  order  rightly  to  estimate  the  mental  and  moral  greatness  of  the  man  whom 
we  meet  to  honor,  we  must  remember  the  circumstances  under  which  his  work 
was  done.  In  this  reconstructed  Union,  in  the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  pros- 
perity, we  have  almost  forgotten  the  condition  of  the  country  when  Oakes 
Ames  entered  public  life,  less  than  twenty  years  ago.  The  moral  agita- 
tion against  slavery  had  culminated  in  rebellion  and  civil  war.  It  was  the 
dark  and  dreary  hour  dreaded  by  Thomas  Jefferson  and  foretold  by  Daniel 
Webster,  when  States  discordant  and  belligerent  were  involved  in  fratricidal 
conflict.  In  that  crisis,  Providence  raised  up  a  galaxy  of  patriots  and  states- 
men equal  to  an  unparalleled  emergency.  As  I  recall  those  leaders,  many  of 
whom  we  knew,  —  Lincoln,  and  Sumner,  and  Andrew,  and  Chase,  and  Sew- 


76  Dedication. 

ard,  and  Stanton,  and  Fessenden,  and  Grant,  and  Greeley,  and  many  more, — 
I  count  among  these  historic  names,  equally  valuable  and  indispensable,  those 
of  Oakes  and  Oliver  Ames  [Applause],  the  builders  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railway,  the  pioneers  of  a  reconstructed  Union  and  a  continental  civilization. 

"  That  great  national  highway  had  become  a  military  and  political  necessity. 
The  Pacific  slope,  peopled  largely  from  the  South,  was  separated  from  us  by 
almost  impassable  barriers,  by  desert  plains  and  snow-clad  mountains.  The 
population  was  disaffected,  and  liable  at  any  moment  to  join  the  ranks  of  se- 
cession. Yet  year  after  year  Congress  sought  in  vain  for  the  men  and  the 
means  to  do  the  work.  When  President  Lincoln  said  to  the  brothers  Ames, 
'  It  is  necessary  for  the  Union  that  this  railway  should  be  constructed,'  they 
subscribed  liberally  ;  and  still  it  was  not  built.  Years  passed.  The  struggle 
deepened.  A  company  had  been  formed,  but  it  failed  to  command  public  con- 
fidence. Lands  were  granted,  but  they  were  unsalable.  The  credit  of  the 
United  States  was  tendered,  but  it  was  doubted.  When  the  Credit  Mobilier 
Construction  Company  broke  down,  when  the  work  was  apparently  at  an  end, 
and  the  enterprise  in  danger  of  being  abandoned,  Oakes  Ames  came  forward 
and  took  on  his  own  shoulders  that  terrible  contract  of  forty-seven  millions  of 
dollars  ;  risked  his  whole  fortune,  risked  his  position,  risked  his  health,  risked 
everything.  And  why  ?  Not  to  make  money,  for  men  of  his  wealth  who 
want  to  make  money  never  take  risks.  It  was  because  he  was  willing  to  give 
up  his  money,  his  life  if  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  the  country  he  loved.  [Ap- 
plause.] What  other  motive  could  he  have  had  ?  He  was  a  man  past  middle 
life,  possessed  of  an  ample  fortune,  rich  beyond  the  dreams  of  ordinary  men. 
He  was  out  of  debt  and  out  of  danger,  the  head  of  a  prosperous  business.  He 
had  social  standing,  political  position,  and  a  future  without  a  cloud.  He  risked 
them  all.  He  never  asked  a  single  favor  from  the  government.  He  kept 
faith  with  friends  and  foes.  He  was  as  frank  and  open  as  the  day.  When, 
by  his  indomitable  energy,  the  road  was  completed,  and  the  legitimate  fruits 
of  fame  and  fortune  were  assured,  he  stood  like  a  rock,  refusing  to  let  his 
associates  be  plundered,  and  thereby  became  the  mark  of  private  malice  and 
political  detraction.  [Applause.] 

"  All  that  is  past.  A  grateful  nation  already  does  him  justice.  The  high- 
est legal  tribunals  of  the  country  have  rendered  their  verdict  in  his  favor.  To- 
day a  thousand  citizens  of  his  native  State  meet  in  the  village  of  his  birth,  to 
join  his  children  and  his  children's  children  in  paying  tribute  to  his  memory. 


Dedication.  77 

"  In  the  great  future  which  is  opening  before  us,  when  this  country  shall 
have  become  the  undisputed  leader  of  the  world,  —  with  every  improvement, 
with  every  discovery,  with  every  reform,  moral  and  material,  which  the  civil- 
izing influences  of  society  will  develop,  —  fresh  lustre  will  be  added  to  the 
name  and  the  fame  of  the  man  whom  we  commemorate. 

"  In  the  great  success  of  his  life  Oakes  Ames  had  a  worthy  partner,  —  his 
brother,  Oliver  Ames.  Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful  than  the  cooperation 
of  these  two  brothers,  so  different,  yet  so  gifted  in  the  bigh  qualities  of  leader- 
ship. I  like  to  think  of  them  together.  They  were  necessary  to  each  other. 
Each  added  qualities  that  the  other  lacked.  Oakes  Ames  had  that  daring, 
that  genius  of  progress,  which  led  him  to  feel  that 

" '  He  either  fears  his  fate  too  much, 

Or  his  desert  is  small, 
Who  fears  to  put  it  to  the  touch 
To  gain  or  lose  it  all.' 

Oliver  Ames  had  that  imperturbable  sagacity  which  acted  as  a  balance-wheel 
upon  the  executive  qualities  of  his  brother  and  made  the  combination  invinci- 
ble. They  were  like  David  and  Jonathan,  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives, 
and  in  their  death  they  were  not  long  divided. 

"  In  conclusion,  let  me  say  that  when  wealth  is  consecrated,  as  this  man 
consecrated  his,  to  the  highest  purposes  of  the  State  and  of  civilization  we 
shall  cease  to  fear  that  large  fortunes  are  dangerous  to  the  republic.  We 
shall  measure  greatness  by  a  new  standard,  and  go  on  in  the  march  of  prog- 
ress under  the  leadership  of  our  men  of  property, 

• 
" '  Till  the  war-drum  throbs  no  longer, and  the  battle  flags  are  furled 

In  the  Parliament  of  man,  the  Federation  of  the  world.'  "     [Applause.] 

"I  shall  next  call  upon  Colonel  Jonas  H.  French,"  said  the  chair- 
man, "  and  if  lie  speaks  over  five  minutes  he  will  hear  the  mallet 
come  down ;  and  I  shall  call  upon  Rev.  R.  R.  Meredith  to  close  the 
exercises." 

After  the  applause  was  ended,  Colonel  French  came  forward,  and 
indulged  in  the  following  remarks  :  — 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT,  —  I  have  not  remodeled  my  speech.  Our  friends  who 
have  just  spoken  followed  your  suggestion,  and  remodeled  their  speeches, 


78  Dedication. 

doubtless,  by  adding  a  few  sentences  while  the  band  played.  [Laughter.] 
But,  sir,  this  is  a  gladsome  day,  and  we  are  here  to  rejoice.  Years  ago,  the 
silver  cord  was  loosed  and  the  golden  bowl  was  broken,  and  we  deposited  in 
your  graveyard  all  that  was  left  of  Oakes  Ames.  We  are  glad,  sir,  to-day  to 
join  in  paying  honor  to  that  man  whom  all  of  us  have  occasion  to  love  and  to 
honor.  We  dedicate  this  beautiful  structure  to  the  manifold  virtues  of  that 
man  ;  and  we  who  have  come  here  dedicate  it  as  a  monument  of  the  undying 
love  and  ceaseless  affection  of  his  sons.  [Applause.] 

"  I  can  only,  in  the  moment  left  me,  speak  of  Mr.  Ames  as  a  business  man ; 
and  as  such  he  was  an  unquestioned  leader  of  men  of  peculiar  power.  You, 
his  associates,  well  know  the  struggle  that  came  of  the  building  of  the  great, 
transcontinental  railroad.  You  know  what  he  endured.  You  know  how 
much  of  a  martyr  he  was  to  that  great  work.  I  say,  well  may  we  do  honor 
to  his  sons,  who  are  carrying  out  to  -  day  with  courage  and  intrepidity  the 
great  work  of  which  these  men  —  for  their  names  are  inseparable  —  were  the 
pioneers. 

"  I  would  tell  you,  if  I  had  the  time,  of  what  belongs  to  this  great  family,  and 
how  much  honor  we  should  award  to  it.  We  believe  this :  that  they  are  en- 
titled to  be  regarded  as  the  pioneers  of  the  railroad  interest  of  the  country ; 
and  with  their  names,  those  of  their  sons  should  be  united.  I  can  only  offer 
you,  in  this  brief  time,  the  salutations  that  we  owe  to  our  friends,  the  sons  of 
Oakes  Ames,  and  extend  to  them  our  heartiest  and  sincerest  congratulations." 
[Applause.] 

The  Kev.  Mr.  Meredith  then  came  forward,  on  being  personally 
announced  as  the  last  speaker,  and  addressed  the  assembly  in  these 
words :  — 

"MR.  PRESIDENT,  —  When  the  invitation  came  to  me  to  be  present  on  this 
most  interesting  occasion,  I  sat  with  it  a  few  minutes  in  my  hand,  and  let  my 
mind  run  back  over  the  history  of  the  past  years  ;  and  in  a  few  moments 
after  that  review  I  said,  '  Oakes  Ames  needs  no  such  monument  to  perpetuate 
his  memory  among  a  grateful  people.'  When  I  came  down  here  to-day,  and 
looked  at  these  buildings  of  industry,  of  beauty,  of  culture,  and  of  religion,  I 
said, '  Oakes  Ames  does  not  need  an  additional  memorial.  Deeds  are  his  best 
monument.'  And  yet,  though  this  does  not  seem  to  be  needed,  our  hearts 


Dedication.  79 

have  told  us  all  that  it  is  a  very  admirable,  exquisitely  beautiful,  and  touching 
act  of  remembrance  on  the  part  of  his  children.  It  gives  me,  as  it  gives  you, 
the  greatest  pleasure  to  join  with  them  to-day  in  the  exercises,  which  are  now 
closing,  of  consecrating  this  building,  as  one  of  the  speakers  has  said,  to  be  a 
crown  of  light  that  shall  lead  this  people  gratefully  to  remember  the  good  and 
wise  and  brave  man  who  has  gone  from  earth. 

"  I  have  said  I  am  glad  to  be  here.  I  am  glad  for  another  thing.  I  am  glad 
that  so  many  words  have  been  so  fitly  spoken  on  this  occasion  that  it  is  not 
necessary  that  I  should  detain  this  audience  a  single  moment  longer."  [Ap- 
plause.] 

At  this  point,  the  chairman  declared  the  public  exercises  closed. 


TRIBUTES   TO   OAKES  AMES. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS  RECEIVED. 

FROM    SECRETARY    ELAINE. 

"  I  knew  your  father  well,  having  been  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives the  entire  period  of  his  service  in  that  body.  He  was  distinguished 
among  his  associates,  both  in  and  out  of  Congress,  for  solidity  and  uprightness 
of  character,  for  sterling  sense,  for  sound  judgment,  for  extraordinary  energy, 
and  for  manly  courage.  He  was  a  model  of  simplicity  and  sobriety  in  his 
habits  of  life,  had  large  wealth  without  pride  of  purse,  and  always  had  the 
quickest  and  kindliest  sympathy  with  young  men  in  their  early  and  difficult 
struggles.  He  embodied  in  himself  the  Charity  which  suffereth  long  and  is 
kind,  which  envieth  not,  which  vaunteth  not  itself,  which  is  not  puffed  up. 

"  He  enjoyed  the  profoundest  confidence  of  those  who  knew  him  best,  and 
your  filial  devotion  to  his  memory  does  honor  to  yourselves,  and  gives  pleas- 
ure to  his  wide  circle  of  surviving  friends." 

FROM   EX-SECRETART   WILLIAM   M.    EVARTS. 

"  I  am  obliged  to  be  in  Washington,  or  it  would  give  me  pleasure  to  join 
with  his  sons  and  neighbors  and  friends  in  the  country  at  large  in  the  honor 
to  be  paid  his  memory  by  the  dedication  at  North  Easton,  on  the  17th  inst., 
of  the  Memorial  Hall  which  the  pious  affection  of  your  brothers  and  yourself 
has  erected  in  honor  of  Oakes  Ames.  • 

"  I  knew  Mr.  Oakes  Ames's  sterling  qualities  and  his  public  spirit,  and  had 
great  respect  for  them." 

FROM   SENATOR   HENRY  L.   DAWES. 

"Mr.  Ames  was  indeed  a  great  man,  and  accomplished  in  his  life- time  a 
great  work.  He  built  his  own  monument,  which  will  outlast  the  marble  and 
the  brass  fashioned  to  keep  others  in  mind.  While  others  were  fighting  bat- 
tles for  the  unity  of  the  nation,  he  bound  it  into  one  with  iron  bonds  which  no 


Letters.  81 

force  can  break  asunder.  We  rightly  crown  with  laurels  the  hero  who  led 
our  armies  to  victory,  and  I  rejoice  that  the  nation  is  not  forgetting  him  who, 
with  no  less  courage  or  hazard,  by  the  arts  of  peace  achieved  a  victory  more 
grand  and  far  reaching  in  its  consequences  than  was  ever  won  over  men  on  the 
field  of  battle. 

"  What  more  fitting  tribute  could  be  paid  by  his  sons  to  that  strong  insight 
of  Mr.  Ames  into  the  source  of  our  strength  as  a  self-governing  people  than  a 
Memorial  Town  Hall,  that  Parliament  House  of  the  American  democracy  in 
which  the  love  of  liberty  was  first  nursed,  and  in  which  it  has  since  grown 
strong.  The  town-meeting  is  the  life-blood  of  the  republic,  and  in  it  are 
reared  the  rugged,  liberty-loving  men  like  Oakes  Ames,  who  are  ever  ready  to 
stake  all  to  build  it  up  and  bind  it  about,  that  it  may  abide  forever." 

FROM   EX-GOVERNOR   ALEXANDER   H.   BULLOCK. 

"  I  recall  with  pleasure  the  intimate  acquaintance  I  formed  with  Mr.  Oakes 
Ames,  when  he  served  in  one  branch  of  the  government  and  I  in  another, 
under  the  administration  of  our  mutual  friend,  Governor  Andrew.  I  well 
knew  then,  and  I  like  now  to  remember,  his  signal  efficiency  in  the  patriotic 
enterprise  of  placing  Massachusetts  strongly  in  the  field  in  the  early  days  of 
the  war.  I  saw  him  but  seldom  afterwards,  but  I  could  not  overlook  the 
great  national  service  he  rendered  in  the  construction  of  that  vast  public  work 
which  has  proved  a  tie  of  union  of  the  States,  and  a  promoter  of  our  common 
prosperity.  In  the  complex  movements  and  combinations  incident  to  that  un- 
dertaking, circumstances  arose  which,  in  certain  particulars,  brought  his  mo- 
tives under  a  misconstruction  which  I  have  at  all  times  believed  to  be  unjust." 

FROM   EX-GOVERNOR   WILLIAM    CLAFLIN. 

"  My  acquaintance  with  your  honored  father  began  early  in  the  antislav- 
ery  contest,  when  bold,  large-hearted,  conscientious  men,  from  the  business 
walks  of  life,  were  greatly  needed  to  encourage  and  sustain  the  movement. 

"  His  name  was  a  tower  of  strength,  and  his  counsel  was  always  sought  on 
all  difficult  questions.  Nor  was  counsel  alone  obtained. 

"  His  time,  his  talents,  and  his  means  were  freely  given  to  the  cause.  He 
was  a  leader  amongst  men. 

"  Those  who  knew  him  in  those  days  of  trial  cherish  his  memory  with  af- 
0 


82  Letters. 

fectionate  remembrance,  for  they  constantly  witnessed  his  love  of  justice,  his 
devotion  to  humanity,  and  his  earnest  desire  to  promote  every  good  work." 

FROM   EX-GOVERNOR    WILLIAM   B.    WASHBURN. 

"  For  nine  consecutive  years,  during  the  most  trying  period  of  our  country's 
history,  it  was  my  privilege  to  be  most  intimately  associated  with  him.  The 
longer  I  knew  him,  the  more  I  admired  his  grand  and  noble  qualities.  The 
last  twelve  years  of  his  life  were  most  faithfully  devoted  to  the  public  service 
of  his  State  and  country.  During  this  period,  he  was  called  to  fill  many  re- 
sponsible and  trying  positions,  and  in  none  of  them  was  he  ever  found  want- 
ing. So  conscientious  was  he  that  he  never  would  allow  private  business  to 
interfere  with  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  public  trusts.  It  is  not  my  purpose 
to  follow  his  public  career  or  to  enlarge  upon  the  special  qualities  of  his  char- 
acter ;  but  I  have  often  thought  that  in  his  indomitable  energy  and  will,  in  his 
strong  self-reliance,  and  in  his  rapid  march  to  success  he  displayed  one  of  the 
grandest  types  of  the  American  character." 

FROM   EX-GOVERNOR   WILLIAM   GASTON. 

,  "  I  am  happy  to  have  an  opportunity  of  expressing  my  great  respect  for  the 
character  and  memory  of  the  late  Hon.  Oakes  Ames.  By  his  great  energy, 
courage,  and  ability,  a  very  important  public  work  was  brought  to  a  success- 
ful completion  ;  and  I  think  his  services  were  of  such  a  character  as  to  justly 
entitle  him  to  the  respect  and  gratitude  of  his  countrymen." 

FROM   EX-GOVERNOR  THOMAS    TALBOT. 

"  It  is  indeed  fitting  that  such  a  memorial  building  should  be  erected  to  one 
whose  services  to  the  State  and  nation  were  so  eminent.  But  he  has  quite  as 
enduring  a  monument  in  the  memory  of  those  who  witnessed  the  gigantic  ef- 
forts which  led  to  the  completion  of  the  enterprise  which  bound  together  with 
indissoluble  bonds  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  This  alone 
should  be  sufficient  to  keep  his  memory  green  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of 
the  nation." 

FROM  EX-GOVERNOR  ALEXANDER   H.   RICE. 

"  How  much  in  keeping  it  is  with  the  large-hearted  liberality  of  the  Ames 
family  to  supplement  the  noble  enterprise  of  their  deceased  father  with  the 


Letters.  83 

gift  of  a  Town  Hall  to  their  neighbors  and  fellow-citizens !  I  heartily  con- 
gratulate you  on  so  meritorious  an  achievement.  I  knew  Mr.  Oakes  Ames 
well,  and  had  the  best  opportunities  of  watching  his  public  career  ;  and  I  be- 
came an  admirer  of  the  grandeur  of  his  enterprise,  the  clearness  and  sagacity 
of  his  perceptions  in  large  undertakings,  and  I  believe  in  the  purity  of  his  mo- 
tives in  his  intercourse  with  all  men.  He  was  a  noble  specimen  of  American 
manhood  ;  and  no  catalogue  of  the  great  and  deserving  men  of  his  generation 
will  be  complete  that  does  not  contain  the  name  of  Oakes  Ames." 

FROM   HON.    ARTEMAS   HALE. 

"  The  infirmities  incident  to  an  age  of  almost  a  century  must  be  my  excuse 
"for  not  accepting  your  kind  invitation  to  the  dedication  of  the  Oakes  Ames 
Memorial  Hall. 

"  I  should  be  much  gratified  to  be  there  and  witness  the  ceremonies  of  the 
occasion  ;  but  more  particularly  to  show  by  my  presence  my  high  apprecia- 
tion of  the  character  of  Mr.  Ames,  and  my  disapproval  of  the  injustice  done 
him  by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Thirty-Eighth  Congress.  He 
rendered  very  essential  services  as  a  member  of  Congress ;  and  his  agency  in 
the  construction  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  was  deserving  of  a  statue  rather  than 
a  vote  of  censure,  which  was  a  disgrace  to  that  body,  and  ought  to  be,  and  I 
hope  will  be,  expunged  from  its  journals." 

FROM  HON.    SAMUEL   J.   TILDEN. 

"  The  monument  of  filial  piety  by  which  the  sons  of  the  late  Mr.  Ames  pro- 
pose to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  virtues  and  usefulness  of  their  father 
does  them  honor.  While  it  will  be  in  itself  a  public  benefaction,  it  will  tes- 
tify to  future  generations  that  the  public  and  ennobling  sympathies  of  the  fa- 
ther were  most  appreciated  where  he  was  best  known,  and  that  they  survive 
in  his  descendants.  ...  It  would  gratify  me  to  join  with  his  old  neighbors 
in  paying  even  that  feeble  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  one  who  has  a 
title  to  rank  among  his  country's  benefactors." 

FROM    WENDELL    PHILLIPS. 

"  I  am  very  sorry  I  cannot  be  present  and  pay  my  tribute  of  respect  to  one 
of  the  most  honest,  patriotic,  devoted,  and  far-sighted  men  that  Massachusetts 
has  lent  to  the  national  councils  in  our  day. 


84  Letters. 

"  While  he  stood  head  and  shoulders  above  all  her  Representatives  in  fur- 
thering the  material  interests  of  the  nation,  he  was  equally  distinguished 
above  most  of  them  by  his  clear  view  of  what  honor  and  justice  demanded  of 
us,  and  by  his  manly,  outspoken,  and  self-sacrificing  efforts  to  make  that  the 
law  of  the  land.  I  held  him  always  in  special  honor,  and  felt  it  a  privilege  to 
call  him  my  friend,  admiring  his  sturdy  and  straightforward  honesty  of  life 
and  purpose  as  a  type  of  what  a  true  man  in  a  republic  should  be." 

FROM   HON.   JO8IAH   QUINCY. 

"  I  regret  that  I  shall  be  unable  to  attend  the  dedication  of  the  Oakes  Ames 
Memorial  Hall  at  North  Easton,  to  express  personally  my  appreciation  of  the 
energy  that  connected  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  States,  and  thus  secured  their 
federal  union  to  future  generations." 

FROM   FRANKLIN    HAVEN,    ESQ. 

"  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  enjoy  a  pleasant  acquaintance  with  your  re- 
spected father  during  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  and  thus  to  acquire,  as 
I  believe  I  did,  a  true  and  an  appreciative  knowledge  of  his  character. 

"  If  I  were  with  you  to-day,  I  should  ask  permission  to  state  my  entire  con- 
fidence in  the  great  simplicity,  the  integrity,  patriotism,  and  philanthropy  of 
his  character. 

"  That  he  was  endowed  with  a  large  business  capacity,  courage,  untiring 
perseverance,  and  indomitable  energy  is  attested,  beyond  all  question,  in  the 
successful  achievement  of  a  great  and  magnificent  public  enterprise." 

FROM   HON.    MARSHALL   P.    WILDER. 

"  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  acquainted  with  the  father  of  Mr.  Ames 
more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  who,  had  he  lived  to  this  time,  would  have  been 
one  hundred  and  two  years  of  age.  He  was  a  man  of  enterprise,  dignified  yet 
courteous  in  manners,  and  of  the  strictest  integrity  of  character  from  princi- 
ple ;  and  what  was  not  common  then,  he  was  a  professed  temperance  man. 
In  a  word,  he  was  of  the  type  of  a  true  Christian  gentleman. 

"  It  has  also  been  my  privilege  to  know  Oliver  Ames,  Jr.,  his  third  son,  to 
whom  the  public  is  indebted  for  many  beneficent  acts,  and  on  whose  tomb  I 
would  this  day  drop  a  Mower,  in  grateful  remembrance  of  his  usefulness  and 
excellence  of  character. 


Letters.  85 

"  Nor  would  I  forget,  on  this  day  of  consecration,  the  sons  of  these  noble 
men,  who  have  conferred  and  are  conferring  honor  on  our  Commonwealth  and 
blessings  on  their  fellow-men. 

"  Long  may  the  beautiful  edifice  which  you  are  now  to  dedicate  stand  as  a 
memorial,  not  only  of  the  man  whose  name  it  bears,  but  also  of  a  family  which 
is  so  worthily  represented  in  the  annals  of  New  England  history." 

FROM   HON.   BENJAMIN    F.    BUTLER. 

"  Nothing  would  give  me  greater  personal  satisfaction  than  by  my  presence 
to  testify  my  regard  for  him  as  a  man,  my  great  appreciation  of  his  character 
as  a  statesman,  and  my  admiration  of  his  brave  and  enterprising  spirit,  which 
gave  to  this  country  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  "Without  him,  I  am  of  the 
confident  belief  that  that  great  link  which  binds  the  East  and  the  West  to- 
gether, in  the  bond  which  we  all  trust  will  never  be  severed,  would  not  have 
been  made  within  this  generation,  if  at  all.  Other  interests  might  have  pre- 
vented it  in  the  future.  It  required  all  the  necessities  of  the  war,  all  the  aid 
the  government  could  give  it,  to  make  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  a  plausible  enterprise ;  and  it  became  a  possible  enterprise  only  be- 
cause his  large-hearted  and  brave  spirit  led  him  to  take  upon  himself  the  act- 
ual burden  of  the  undertaking. 

"  It  is  easy  to  criticise  after  the  fact,  but  whoever  will  put  his  mind  back  to 
the  hour  when  Oakes  Ames  loaned  many  millions  of  honestly  earned  money 
to  do  that  work  will,  upon  an  examination  of  the  conditions,  I  am  certain, 
come  to  the  same  conclusion  that  I  have. 

"  With  an  energy  never  faltering,  with  a  directness  never  swerving,  with 
a  faith  never  failing,  he  stood  behind  it,  pushing  it  forward  with  the  belief 
that  it  was  as  necessary  for  the  unification  of  the  country  as  was  the  success- 
ful termination  of  the  war  itself. 

"  Supposed  political  necessities  and  fears  of  newspaper  attacks  caused  cer- 
tain men,  who,  if  they  had  had  half  of  Mr.  Ames's  courage  and  one  quarter  of 
his  honesty,  would  have  scorned  to  do  such  a  deed,  to  attempt  to  protect  them- 
selves by  interposing  him  as  a  shield  between  them  and  acts  which  were  only 
wrong  because  the  denial  of  them  was  a  confession  of  that  implication,  and 
which,  if,  as  in  the  case  of  some  of  them,  they  had  been  courageously  avowed, 
would  never  have  made  a  ripple  even  upon  the  turbid  stream  of  political 
strife,  lie  almost  alone  stood  by  his  convictions  and  his  acts,  and  told  both  in 


86  Letters. 

a  plain  spirit  of  simple  honesty,  which  was  convincing  to  the  mind  of  every 
true  man  of  the  purity  of  both  his  intentions  and  his  doings. 

"  My  relations  to  him  as  his  colleague  made  me  entirely  familiar  with  the 
whole  subject.  Untouched  myself  by  any  accusation,  I  could  and  did  form 
an  unbiased,  and  the  lapse  of  time  and  course  of  events  convince  me  an  accu- 
rate, judgment  of  Oakes  Ames,  as  one  of  the  best,  most  unselfish,  most  up- 
right, and  most  brave  and  true  of  all  the  public  men  I  have  ever  known." 

FROM  HON.  JOHN  SHERMAN,  SENATOR  OF  UNITED  STATES  FROM  OHIO. 

"  It  would  have  given  me  great  pleasure  to  have  accepted  your  invitation, 
and  in  this  way  shown  my  respect  for  the  important  and  valuable  services  ren- 
dered by  him  to  his  country  and  State.  I  knew  him  well  at  the  time  he  was 
bearing  the  heavy  load  of  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
when  but  few  of  his  detractors  would  have  had  the  courage  to  take  his  place." 

FROM   HON.    WILLIAM  P.   FRYE,    SENATOR   OF   UNITED    STATES    FROM    MAINE. 

"  Imperative  engagements  prevent  my  acceptance  of  your  invitation,  but  I 
cannot  decline  without  declaring  that  in  my  opinion  Mr.  Ames  is  entitled  to 
this  recognition  of  his  work  by  his  friends  ;  ay,  mo»e,  that  the  American  peo- 
ple might  well  unite  in  such  a  memorial  to  enterprise,  public  spirit,  and  hon- 
esty. I  say  this,  gentlemen,  not  unmindful  of  any  of  the  history  of  the  past 
twenty  years,  nor  forgetful  of  my  participation  in  any  of  its  events." 

FROM  HON.    GEORGE   B.   LORING,    UNITED     STATES   COMMISSIONER    OF    AGRI- 
CULTURE. 

"  He  was  a  kind  and  cordial  friend  to  me,  and  always  encouraged  me  in 
every  attempt  to  defend  the  right  and  to  accept  the  most  humane  doctrines  of 
government.  So  long  as  untiring  enterprise  and  great  comprehension  and 
large  capacity  for  affairs,  unceasing  industry  and  high  and  honorable  purpose, 
are  admired  and  respected,  his  name  will  be  borne  in  grateful  remembrance." 

FROM   EX-GOVERNOR   EDWIN   D.   MORGAN,    OF  NEW   YORK. 

"  I  regret  that  my  engagements  here  are  such  as  to  prevent  my  acceptance 
of  your  very  kind  invitation :  otherwise  it  would  give  me  much  pleasure  to  be 
present  upon  the  occasion  of  so  appropriate  recognition  of  the  eminent  services 
of  the  Hon.  Oakes  Ames  in  developing  the  resources  of  the  country  and  in 


Letters.  87 

establishing  facilities  for  its  commerce  ;  and  to  whom,  more  than  to  any  other 
man,  the  country  is  indebted  for  the  early  completion  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pa- 
cific, thus  binding  forever  with  an  iron  chain  those  new,  rich  States  and  Ter- 
ritories to  our  older  civilization." 

FROM   COL.  FRANCIS   H.  PEABODT,  OF   KIDDER,  PEABODT   &   CO.,  OF  BOSTON. 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  be  one  in  any  testimonial  of  respect  to  your  father,  — 
one  of  the  most  honest  and  brave  men  I  ever  came  in  contact  with.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  me  to  remember  that  I  took  every  opportunity  to  proclaim  my 
opinion  of  him  at  a  moment  when  he  was  living  and  suffering  from  cruel  in- 
justice." 

FROM   ISAAC    H.    BAILEY,    OF  NEW   YORK. 

"  Not  only  is  this  tribute  of  filial  affection  an  admirable  conception,  but  the 
name  of  Oakes  Ames  deserves  to  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the 
American  people  as  one  of  the  country's  benefactors.  His  far-reaching  fore- 
cast projected,  and  his  tireless  energy  carried  into  successful  operation,  one  of 
the  grandest  enterprises  of  the  century.  In  common  with  many  of  his  con- 
temporaries, he  did  not  escape  the  noisome  breath  of  clamor ;  but  all  who 
knew  him  can  bear  witnesf  to  his  disinterestedness,  sincerity,  and  truthfulness. 
His  life  was  simple  and  pure,  his  disposition  benevolent,  his  conduct  irre- 
proachable ;  and  no  word  of  eulogy  that  has  been  or  will  be  pronounced  over 
his  ashes  will  exceed  the  measure  of  his  worth." 

FROM   EDWARD    ATKINSON. 

"  The  time  will  surely  come  when  it  will  not  be  left  to  his  sons  and  other 
relatives,  or  even  to  his  personal  friends,  to  erect  a  monument  by  which  his 
memory  may  be  perpetuated. 

"  As  time  goes  on,  full  justice  will  be  done  to  the  grand  work  which  he  ac- 
complished ;  and  his  name  will  go  down  in  history  as  one  of  the  men  who,  in 
an  age  of  danger  and  difficulty,  conferred  upon  this  country  one  of  the  great- 
est benefits.  He  was  one  who  aided,  perhaps  as  much  as  even  those  who  com- 
manded armies,  in  maintaining  the  union  of  these  States." 

FROM  JUDGE  JOHN  A.  CAMPBELL,  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 

**  I  should  have  had  pleasure  in  testifying  the  respect  I  had  for  your  honor- 
able father ;  and  also  my  appreciation  for  the  vigorous  character,  the  compre- 


88  Letters. 

hensive  and  enlarged  views,  the  untiring  industry,  the  probity  and  simplicity 
that  distinguished  him." 

FROM   HON.    HARVEY   JEWELL. 

"  I  had  occasion  to  have  quite  frequent  intercourse  with  Oakes  Ames  at  one 
period  of  my  professional  life.  No  man  whom  I  ever  met  inspired  me  with  a 
higher  idea  of  business  intelligence,  and  above  all  of  the  utmost  integrity  and 
probity,  than  did  he.  As  I  respected  him  while  living,  I  revere  his  memory 
when  dead,  and  I  believe  the  American  people  owe  to  him  more  than  any 
man  for  the  advantages  which  it  seems  to  me  his  energy  and  sagacity  have 
given  them." 

FROM   HON.   J.'  F.   FARNSWORTH,    OF   ILLINOIS. 

"  I  knew  Mr.  Oakes  Ames  well,  having  served  many  years  in  Congress  with 
him,  and  have  great  respect  for  his  memory ;  for  in  these  elements  of  char- 
acter which  constitute  genuine  human  greatness  —  energy,  courage,  sterling 
integrity,  and  truth  —  he  was  certainly  the  peer  of  any  man." 

FROM   HON.   B.    W.   HARRIS, 

"  For  his  courage  in  undertaking,  and  his  perseverance,  in  the  face  of  oppo- 
sition, in  carrying  to  successful  ending,  enterprises  of  such  magnitude  and  vast 
national  importance,  our  country  owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude.  His  best  and 
most  lasting  memorial  will  be  the  memory  of  his  great  actions,  his  pure  life, 
and  great  integrity."  • 

FROM   HON.    M.   P.   KENNARD,   SUB-TREASURER. 

"  I  promise  myself  the  pleasure  of  attending,  and  shall  be  satisfied  if  my 
presence  can  testify,  even  thus  remotely,  to  my  warm  regard  for  the  memory 
of  him  whose  name  it  bears,  as  one  who  was  always  sincere  in  his  friendships, 
and  a  generous,  unselfish,  and  public-spirited  citizen." 

FROM   GOV.   N.    G.    ORDWAY,    OF    DAKOTA   TERRITORY. 

"  The  stupendous  public  and  private  enterprises  with  which  the  name  of 
Oakes  Ames  will  stand  indissolubly  connected  are  monuments  to  his  energy, 
fidelity,  and  greatness,  which  misrepresentation  can  never  obscure." 


Letters.  89 

FROM   HON.   JOSIAH    G.   ABBOTT. 

"  I  knew  and  had  great  respect  for  your  father,  and  shall  be  most  pleased 
to  be  present  at  the  dedication  of  so  fitting  a  monument  to  his  memory." 

FROM   B.    B.   JOHNSON,    ESQ.,   UNITED    STATES    MARSHAL'S    OFFICE,   DISTRICT 

OF   MASSACHUSETTS. 

"  I  was  in  Washington  from  March,  1863,  to  July,  1869,  and  volunteered 
to  assist  the  Massachusetts  State  Agent  during  the  terrible  influx  of  the 
wounded  into  the  hospitals  of  Washington.  I  was  thrown  much  in  contact 
with  the  various  Congressmen.  I  had  occasion  to  need  funds  often  that  the 
State  did  not  furnish,  to  relieve  the  wounded.  Your  father  visited  two  of  the 
hospitals  with  me  —  'Amory  Square'  —  several  times,  and  said,  'When  you 
need  money  call  on  me.  Don't  let  any  poor  fellow  suffer,  if  you  can  help  it.' 
He  slipped  twenty-five  dollars  into  my  hands  then,  and  other  sums  frequently 
afterward,  not  waiting  to  be  asked,  but  himself  seeking  to  know  the  wants. 
His  unostentatious,  his  genuine  generosity,  his  words  and  conduct,  always  im- 
pressed me  with  the  feeling,  '  He  is  one  of  God's  noblemen.' " 

FROM   HON.   JOHN   E.    SANFORD. 

"  In  the  community  where  his  life  was  spent,  there  is  little  need  to  speak  of 
his  integrity  as  a  man  of  business,  or  of  his  public  spirit  and  influence  as  a 
citizen.  All  knew  and  remembered  him  as  a  man  of  large%  views,  noble  im- 
pulses, and  generous  sympathies.  Whatever  the  cause  or  the  measure,  he  was 
always  to  be  counted  on  the  right  side.  They  remember,  too,  with- grateful 
pride,  his  long  and  conspicuous  service  in  the  important  public  trusts  which 
they  again  and  again  committed  to  his  charge,  and  the  great  public  works  to 
which  he  devoted  himself  with  a  breadth  of  view,  an  absorbing  faith  and 
courage,  a  personal  force,  a  self-sacrifice  and  success,  for  which  there  is  hardly 
a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  private  or  public  enterprise. 

"  But  it  is  not  for  what  he  did,  more  than  for  what  he  was,  that  they  who 
knew  him  best  love  and  honor  his  memory.  Oakes  Ames  was  an  honest 
man,  —  straightforward  in  purpose  and  action,  trustworthy  in  deed  and  word. 
The  warp  and  woof  of  his  nature  were  such  that  he  could  not  be  otherwise. 
There  was  no  background  to  his  character  on  which  the  sunlight  could  not  be 
turned. 


90  Letters. 

"  We  justly  assign  a  high  place  on  the  record  of  meritorious  and  honorable 
service  to  those  who,  with  lofty  and  unselfish  aim,  with  large  ability,  and  with 
a  mind  conscious  of  rectitude,  have  labored  and  accomplished  much  for  their 
fellow-men.  Such  is  the  place  which  Oakes  Ames  is  entitled  to  fill,  —  not 
only  in  the  affectionate  memories  of  his  neighbors  and  former  constituents, 
but  in  the  opinions  of  all  who  rightly  estimate  his  life  and  character,  as  a 
man  and  a  public  benefactor." 

FROM  HON.  SAMUEL  N.  ALDRICH,  OF  MARLBORO. 

"  His  name  and  memory  should  be  honored  by  all  true  Americans." 

FROM    SIDNEY    BARTLETT,    ESQ. 

"  Mr.  Bartlett  regrets  that  he  shall  not  be  able  to  be  present  at  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  Memorial  Hall,  which  they  (the  Messrs.  Ames)  have  erected  as  a 
token  of  their  filial  regard  for  one  who  will  be  long  and  justly  remembered  as 
a  public  benefactor." 

FROM  HON.   ALBERT   BOWKER. 

"  Oakes  Ames,  as  a  great  and  unselfish  projector  and  patriot,  is  a  part  of 
the  history  of  the  country.  The  charming  simplicity  and  purity  of  his  life, 
his  exceptional  enterprise,  conspicuous  integrity  (never  doubted  by  those  who 
knew  him),  —  these,  and  other  endearing  qualities  of  mind  and  character, 
caused  the  appreciative  to  love  and  honor  him.  He  was  a  man, — not  an 
eighth,  nor  a  sixteenth.  When  he  saw  the  necessity  of  rapid  communication 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  he  put  his  great  energy  and  fortune  to  the 
accomplishment  of  it." 

FROM   CHARLES   BREWER,    ESQ.,    OF  JAMAICA   PLAIN. 

"  I  regret  that  my  health  and  lameness,  as  well  as  my  age,  —  seventy- 
eight,  —  will  not  permit  me  to  accept  your  kind  invitation. 

"  Oakes  Ames  was  an  old  and  respected  friend,  with  whom  I  had  very 
pleasant  associations  in  our  business  matters ;  and  I  cherish  his  memory  as 
one  who  was  noted,  among  the  merchants  of  Boston,  for  his  high  sense  of 
honor  and  for  his  strict  integrity  throughout  his  business  life.  As  a  friend,  I 
mourn  his  loss  and  his  pleasant  manners  and  cheerful  smile." 


Letters.  91 


FROM   WILLIAM    ENDICOTT,    JR.,    ESQ.,    OF    BOSTON. 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  show  by  my  presence  that  the  falsehood  of  members 
of  Congress  and  the  misrepresentations  of  the  newspapers  did  not  lessen  my 
respect  for  your  father,  whom  I  have  always  regarded  as  the  victim  of  gross 
injustice." 

FROM  THOMAS  DANA,  ESQ.,  OF  BOSTON. 

"  Allow  me  to  express  my  admiration  of  the  filial  love  and  devotion  of  the 
children  of  that  great  man,  Oakes  Ames,  who  did  so  much  for  the  material 
progress  of  America,  and  of  whom  all  her  people  should  be  proud." 

FROM  HON.  JOHN   F.  DILLON,  LATE  JUDGE  UNITED    STATES    DISTRICT    COURT, 

NEW    YORK. 

"All  persons  who  knew  Mr.  Ames,  and  all  who  had  data. for  forming  a 
judgment,  knew  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  solid  worth  and  sterling  qualities. 
His  career  was  one  of  usefulness  not  only  to  the  immediate  community  in 
which  he  lived,  but  also  to  the  country  at  large.  .  .  .  He  did  not,  indeed, 
escape  detraction,  but  his  name  and  memory  have  survived  it ;  and  the  public 
judgment  concerning  his  career  is  as  gratifying  to  his  friends  as  it  is  encour- 
aging to  all  persons  who  are  unjustly  assailed." 

FROM   HENRY   VILLARD,  PRESIDENT   OF   THE   NORTHERN   PACIFIC    RAILROAD 

COMPANY. 

"  I  will  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  tender  my  tribute  of  admiration 
to  the  undaunted  spirit,  energy,  and  enterprise  of  him  in  whose  memory  you 
have  erected  so  becoming  a  monument  in  his  Massachusetts  home.  Being 
myself  now  engaged  in  directing  the  construction  of  another  railroad  line 
across  the  continent,  I  can  the  more  thoroughly  understand  the  difficulties  that 
lay  in  the  way  of  the  original  Pacific  Railroad  enterprise,  so  many  years  ago, 
and  which,  but  for  him,  would  never  have  been  successfully  overcome." 

FROM   HON.    GEORGE   P.    SANGER. 

"  I  hold  in  very  high  respect  the  memory  of  your  father  and  his  great  ser- 
vices to  the  country,  and  regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  at  these  commemora- 
tive exercises." 


92  Letters. 


FROM    HON.    P.    EMORY  ALDRICH. 

"  It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  accept  the  invitation,  and 
to  unite  with  other  citizens  in  paying  respect  to  the  memory  of  one  to  whom 
the  whole  country  is  indebted  for  its  most  magnificent  railway,  uniting  the 
two  oceans,  and  binding  all  the  intermediate  States  in  an  indissoluble  bond." 

FROM    HON.   JOHN   B.   ALLEY. 

"  I  can  most  truly  say  that  I  have  never  met  a  man  whose  life  was  more 
in  obedience  to  what  he  believed  the  principles  of  justice  and  right  demanded 
than  was  that  of  my  late  honored  friend.  I  am  grieved  to  say  that  he  passed 
away  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  under  the  sting  of  a  grossly  unjust  public 
censure,  occasioned  by  one  of  those  unaccountable  delusions  which  sometimes 
take  possession  of  the  public  mind  in  moments  of  passion  and  excitement,  in 
which  facts  and  argument  are  powerless  to  convince.  .  .  .  For  his  present 
vindication,  it  need  only  be  said  that  the  stockholders  of  that  great  corpora- 
tion, which  he  was  accused  of  wronging,  by  an  unanimous  vote  have  erected 
to  his  memory,  upon  the  summit  of  the  great  range  of  mountains  over  which 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  passes,  a  large  and  costly  monument,  as  a  reminder 
to  coming  generations  of  their  appreciation  of  his  gigantic  efforts  and  stainless 
honor  in  all  his  dealings  with  the  government  and  themselves,  in  pushing  to 
its  full  completion  this  immense  enterprise." 

PROM  HON.  E.  S.  TOBEY,  POSTMASTER  OP  BOSTON. 

"  I  regret  that,  in  consequence  of  an  absence  from  the  city  for  several  days 
past,  an  accumulation  of  duties  will  deprive  me  of  the  privilege  of  uniting  with 
you  and  your  guests  in  perpetuating  the  memory  of  one  who  has  rendered 
such  eminent  service  to  our  country,  and  without  whose  indomitable  energy 
and  intelligent  enterprise  the  establishing  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  would 
still  be  a  project  to  be  accomplished  in  the  indefinite  future.  The  influence 
of  this  grand  enterprise  alone  on  the  commercial  prosperity  of  our  country, 
and  in  strengthening  the  political  ties  between  the  States  on  the  Pacific  coast 
and  those  on  the  Atlantic  shore,  cannot  be  adequately  estimated." 


Letters.  93 

FROM   SIDNEY   DILLON,  PRESIDENT    OP   THE   UNION   PACIFIC   RAILROAD. 

"  It  would  give  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  be  present  at  this  meeting,  and 
participate  in  the  ceremonies  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  my  respected  and 
esteemed  friend  ;  and  while  I  may  be  absent  in  person,  my  heartfelt  sympathy 
will  be  with  you. 

"  I  trust  that  the  hall  thus  dedicated  may  be  enjoyed  for  many  years  to 
come  by  the  people  of  North  Easton,  and  serve  to  keep  fresh  the  memory  of 
one  who  deserves  the  highest  praise  and  respect  of  all." 

FROM    S.   DEANE,    ESQ.,    OF    WASHINGTON,   D.    C. 

"  It  gives  me  great  joy  to  observe  that  you  mean  to  build  into  the  very 
structures  of  your  town  enduring  memorials  of  the  noble  character  and  manly 
virtues  of  your  father.  In  this  way  you  will  fix  lasting  marks  to  tell  the 
future  student  and  coming  generations  of  the  man  who,  in  his  time,  did  great 
things,  and  left  a  memory  rich  in  all  that  is  worth  being  emulated  or  praised 
in  a  civilized  and  Christian  community.  And  so  men  will  come  to  weigh 
aright  all  that  slanderous  tongues  may  have  said  ;  the  wicked  utterances  will 
fade  away  in  the  better  understanding  the  coming  generations  will  surely  have 
of  the  great  and  good  man,  whose  memory  is  to  be  perpetuated  in  this  new 
structure." 

FROM    SENATOR    S.    C.    POMEROT,   OF   KANSAS. 

"  I  have  wondered  if  a  little  incident  which  fell  under  my  own  observation, 
while  your  father  was  a  resident  at  Washington,  would  be  of  value  and  inter- 
est to  you.  The  incident  is  as  follows  :  When  the  Union  army,  repelling  the 
threatened  attack  on  Washington,  near  the  close  of  the  late  war,  was  en- 
camped in  the  neighborhood  of  Silver  Springs,  near  the  Blair  Place,  it  took 
for  its  subsistence  the  crops,  provisions,  and  animals  of  a  farmer  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  left  him  destitute.  This  so  affected  him  that  he  lost  his  reason, 
and  was  taken  to  the  asylum  near  Washington.  The  mother  of  this  family 
likewise  became  prostrated  with  sickness. 

"Under  these  circumstances,  the  eldest  child,  a  girl  of  some  sixteen  years, 
came  to  Washington,  bringing  the  papers  which  the  army  officers  had  left  at 
the  house.  Her  object  was  to  collect  the  money  due  from  the  government. 
She  applied  to  the  Hon.  Oakes  Ames  for  advice  and  assistance.  She  asked 


94  Letters. 

him  if  she  should  employ  a  lawyer  to  collect  it.  Mr.  Ames  looked  at  her 
papers,  and  answered,  *  No,  you  can  collect  it  yourself,  and  save  the  expense.' 
She  hesitated,  saying  she  did  not  know  how,  or  where  to  go.  '  I  will  go  with 
you,'  was  his  instant  reply.  So  he  walked  with  the  poor  girl  all  the  way  to 
the  War  Department,  where  he  introduced  her  to  the  proper  officer.  The 
case  was  examined,  and  in  due  time  the  money  was  paid. 

"  Encouraged  by  an  act  of  such  kindness,  she  called  again  upon  Mr.  Ames, 
seeking  to  procure  employment  from  the  government,  to  support  the  family? 
as  she  said.  She  was  asked  if  she  could  not  teach  school,  and  answered,  '  I 
have  not  finished  school  myself ; '  and  it  would  take  a  whole  year  before  she 
could  get  through,  and  she  could  not  now  have  money  to  go  any  further. 
Mr.  Ames  asked  her  how  much  it  would  cost  in  money  for  her  to  go  through 
and  become  qualified  to  teach.  She  answered,  fully  one  hundred  dollars,  and 
that  she  could  not  think  of.  '  But  if  you  had  the  money,  would  you  go 
through  and  teach  school  ? '  he  inquired.  '  Oh,  I  should  be  glad  to,'  was  her 
ready  reply.  Mr.  Ames  gave  her  the  needed  one  hundred  dollars  on  the  spot, 
and  with  a  heart  swelling  with  gratitude  and  eyes  filled  with  tears  she  bade 
him  good-by. 

"  I  watched  the  course  of  this  young  girl  until,  after  graduating,  she  taught 
the  school  in  her  own  neighborhood.  At  length,  desirous  of  larger  compen- 
sation, she  applied  to  General  Spinner,  who  gave  her  an  appointment  in  the 
Treasury  Department,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  she  is  still  employed  there. 
Her  father  died  in  the  asylum.  She  and  her  mother  managed  to  support  and 
educate  the  family  of  several  younger  children,  she  specially  taking  upon  her- 
self the  task  of  giving  a  college  education  to  one  of  her  promising  brothers. 

"The  blessings  of  many,  ready  to  perish,  will  follow  the  memory  of  the 
man  who  gave  timely  and  generous  aid  to  such  destitute  ones,  without  osten- 
tation or  display." 

FROM   HON.   HOSEA   M.   KNOWLTON,    OP   NEW   BEDFORD. 

"  I  should  take  great  satisfaction  in  assisting,  so  far  as  I  could,  in  a  cere- 
mony, the  object  of  which  is  to  honor  the  memory  of  one  whom  in  his  life- 
time I  so  much  respected  for  his  sturdy  and  manly  character,  and  of  whose 
record  and  work,  as  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  I  am  so  proud,  as  the  late 
Hon.  Oakes  Ames." 


Letters.  95 


FROM   HON.   E.    C.    MONK,   OF   STOUGHTON,   MASS. 

"  Impressed  on  my  mind  early  in  life  are  the  sterling  qualities  and  virtuous 
character  of  Oakes  Ames.  His  patriotism,  sound  principles,  vigorous  and 
active  life,  endeared  him  to  all  who  knew  his  worth  personally." 

FROM  JOHN    C.    S.    HARRISON,    GOVERNMENT    DIRECTOR     OF    UNION    PACIFIC 
RAILROAD,    INDIANAPOLIS,   INDIANA. 

"  It  is  with  profound  regret  that  I  have  to  express  my  inability  to  join  in 
doing  honor  to  the  name  of  a  man  towards  whom  I  always  entertained  feel- 
ings of  the  greatest  respect. 

"  Your  father  was  my  friend,  and  that  relation  —  a  relation  which  always 
brings  to  the  surface  the  flaws  and  imperfections  of  baser  natures  —  but  em- 
phasized the  nobility  of  his  character. 

"  Generous,  charitable,  loving,  Mr.  Ames  had  all  the  kindly  virtues,  and  be- 
sides he  was  true  as  steel.  You  do  well  to  honor  his  memory,  but  he  needs 
no  monument  to  perpetuate  his  virtues.  What  he  did  for  his  country  and 
humanity  will  do  even  more  to  keep  alive  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  an 
imperishable  record  of  his  great  qualities  than  the  Memorial  you  have  erected 
to  his  memory." 

FROM  HON.  ALPHEUS  HARDING,  OF  ATHOL,  MASS. 

"  It  would  afford  me  much  pleasure  to  testify  by  my  presence  the  profound 
respect  I  entertain  for  the  character  of  the  man,  and  my  appreciation  of  the 
magnificent  work  he  accomplished  for  the  country  he  loved  and  served  so 
well." 

FROM  HON.  CHARLES  ALLEN,  JUDGE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 

"  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  attend  the  dedication  of  so  worthy  a 
Memorial  of  so  remarkable  a  man  as  your  father,  and  thus  pay  my  tribute  of 
respect  to  his  merits  and  memory  ;  but  a  great  pressure  of  present  occupations 
will  render  this  impossible." 


Letters. 


FROM   WILLIAM   LLOYD    GARRISON,    JR.,    OF   BOSTON. 

"  A  much-maligned  man  was  your  lamented  father,  and  I  should  have  been 
glad  to  testify  by  my  presence  my  respect  for  his  memory.  Your  filial  vindi- 
cation of  him  elicits  my  cordial  sympathy." 

FROM   A.    S.   WHEELER,   ESQ.,   OF   BOSTON. 

"  I  knew  Oakes  Ames  for  many  years,  and  I  had  entire  confidence  in  his 
uprightness,  integrity,  and  purity  of  purpose. 

"  That  confidence  was  never  shaken,  and  when  he  died  I  felt  that  we  had 
lost  an  honest  man  ;  and  it  has  been  my  hope  that  his  memory  should  be  vin- 
dicated from  the  cruelly  unjust  aspersions  cast  upon  him  in  his  life." 

FROM   DELANO    A.    GODDARD,'LATE    EDITOR    BOSTON    DAILY   ADVERTISER. 

"  I  did  not  have  any  personal  acquaintance  with  your  father,  but  I  believed 
in  him  and  respected  him,  and  should  be  glad,  if  I  could,  to  express  it  by  being 
present  next  week." 

FROM  ROBERT  DRAPER,  OF  CANTON,  MASS. 

"  I  can  assure  you  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  be  present  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  such  a  noble  and  worthy  tribute  of  affection,  and  to  listen  to  a  just 
estimate  by  able  and  candid  minds  of  the  character  and  stature  of  one  whose 
true  measure  has  never  yet  been  taken  by  the  American  people." 

FROM   HON.   JOSEPH   DAVIS,    OF   LYNN,   MASS. 

"  I  believe  Oakes  Ames  was  one  of  the  great  benefactors  of  the  age.  The 
great  enterprise  of  connecting  by  rail  the  two  extremes  of  our  common  coun- 
try was  largely  due  to  his  energy,  his  wealth,  and  his  executive  ability  ;  and  I 
believe  the  country  is  already  recognizing  his  worth  as  a  man,  and  is  placing 
him  high  as  a  public  benefactor." 

FROM   GEORGE   TRITCH,    OF   DENVER,    COLORADO. 

"  I  should  have  taken  great  pleasure  to  aid  by  my  humble  presence  in 
doing  honor  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the  few  of  nature's  noblemen." 


Letters.  97 


FROM   E.   W.    WILLARD,    OF   NEWPORT,    R.   I. 

"  I  have  great  respect  for  the  memory  of  your  father,  to  whose  integrity  of 
purpose  and  untiring  devotion  the  country  is  so  largely  indebted  for  the  grand- 
est enterprise  of  the  age." 

FROM    C.    B.    H.    FESSENDEN,    OF   NEW   BEDFORD,    MASS. 

"  I  should  heartily  join  in  any  expression  of  honor  to  the  memory  of  one 
who  ventured  so  boldly  and  periled  so  much  for  the  nation,  and  whose  real 
worth  is  being  surely,  though  tardily,  recognized  by  his  countrymen." 

FROM    COL.    THOMAS    W.    PIERCE,    OF    BOSTON. 

"  He  was  both  great  and  good,  and  made  his  full  contribution  to  the  enter- 
prises and  the  progress  of  this  great  and  growing  country,  and  I  delight  to 
honor  his  memory." 

FROM     COL.     HOMER     B.     SPRAGUE,     PRINCIPAL     OF     GIRLS*     HIGH     SCHOOL, 

BOSTON. 

"  I  heartily  sympathize  in  your  intention  to  honor  the  memory  of  that  good 
and  true  man,  your  father,  in  whom  I  never  lost  confidence,  not  even  when 
the  shafts  of  calumny  flew  thickest  around  him.  His  name  is  recorded  in 
lasting  characters  as  one  of  the  benefactors  of  America,  worthy  of  the  love 
and  honor  of  all  men." 

FROM   REV.    L.    H.    SHELDON,    OF   ANDOVER,    MASS. 

"  I  shall  most  gladly  avail  myself .  of  your  invitation  to  renew  old  friend- 
ships, and  also  to  do  honor  to  one  whose  virtues  and  unselfishness  and  enter- 
prise were  proverbial.  It  is  a  noble  sight,  when  worthy  sons,  favored  by  Prov- 
idence, do  honor  to  such  a  sire.  May  Heaven  bless  this  memorial  offering  !  " 

FROM   WILLIAM   B.    STEVENS,   PRESIDENT    GLOBE   NATIONAL   BANK,   BOSTON. 

"  I  knew  your  father  long  and  thoroughly  in  business,  and  always  loved 
and  respected  him  as  a  true  man.     In  the  darkest  hour,  I  always  defended 
him  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  whenever  and  wherever  I  heard  him  attacked. 
I  honor  his  memory  now  with  my  whole  heart." 
7 


98  Letters. 


FROM   COL.    WILLIAM   BORDEN,    OF   NEW   YORK. 

"  I  knew  your  father  well  and  intimately,  and  esteemed  him  highly  for  all 
his  noble  and  generous  traits,  manifested  in  so  many  and  varied  ways,  and 
with  hand  as  open  as  the  heart,  that  surely  none  could  know  him  but  to  love 
him." 

FROM   JOHN   T.   TERRY,    OF   E.    D.   MORGAN   &   CO.,   NEW   YORK. 

"  It  is  especially  gratifying  to  me  to  know  that  you  have  fulfilled  this  act 
of  filial  duty  toward  one  who  was  so  justly  honored  and  respected  by  all  who 
knew  him  intimately ;  and  I  beg  to  add  that  all  who  did  know  him  knew 
an  honest  man,  as  well  as  one  who  was  unselfish  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 
His  memory  will  always  be  revered  by  your  obedient  servant." 

FROM    REV.    W.    V.    MORRISON,   PRESIDING     ELDER    M.   E.    CHURCH,    PROVI- 
DENCE,   R.    I. 

"  Mr.  Oakes  Ames  was  a  first-class  man,  and  has  left  many  evidences  of 
his  business  energy  and  large-hearted  generosity  to  stimulate  and  bless  the 
present  and  the  rising  generation." 

FROM   SAMUEL    LITTLE,    OF   BOSTON. 

"  The  memory  of  Oakes  Ames  will  be  always  cherished  by  me.  As  a 
young  man,  just  entering  upon  business  life,  I  was  indebted  to  him  for  many 
acts  of  kindness  ;  these  never  ceased  until  his  death.  My  business  intercourse 
with  him  extended  through  many  years,  with  the  greatest  esteem  for  his  noble 
heart  and  sterling  character." 

FROM    CHIEF  JUSTICE   LUDELING,    OF   LOUISIANA. 

"  I  regret  that  I  cannot  be  present  to  unite  with  those  who  will  meet  to 
honor  the  memory  of  one  whose  fame  will  live  when  those  who  calumniated 
and  persecuted  him  will  only  be  remembered  for  their  cowardice  and  ingrat- 
itude." 

FROM   C.   E.   VAIL,    OF   BLAIRSTOWN,   N.   J. 

"  I  have  so  high  an  esteem  for  the  memory  of  your  father,  and  so  keen  a 
sense  of  the  injustice  done  him  by  those  who  should  have  been  his  friends 
(not  to  speak  of  others),  that  I  shall  gladly  avail  myself  of  the  privilege  of 
being  present  at  the  dedication  of  the  Oakes  Ames  Memorial  Hall." 


Letters.  99 


FROM  SAMUEL  TUCKERMAN,  OF  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 

"  I  would  gladly  be  present  to  aid  irThonoring  the  memory  of  a  really  great 
and  good  man,  whom  I  ever  regarded  with  deep  respect,  and  never  can  forget ; 
but  am  here  with  my  family,  beyond  the  Mississippi,  to  fight  for  fortune  and 
advancement  denied  me  in  the  East. 

"  Pray  receive,  with  my  thaqks,  the  expression  of  my  sympathy  in  the  un- 
sullied and  increasing  fame  of  your  distinguished  relative." 

FROM   HON.   FRANK  MOREY,    M.    C.,   OF   LOUISIANA. 

"  I  had  the  pleasure  of  becoming  acquainted  with  him  both  in  public  life 
and  in  business  association,  and  in  common  with  many  others  similarly  associ- 
ated I  learned  to  respect  him  as  a  man  of  broad  views  and  great  grasp  of 
mind.  The  nation,  even  more  than  his  family,  would  do  itself  credit  in  erect- 
ing a  monument  to  his  memory  for  the  great  work,  national  in  its  character, 
which,  had  it  not  been  for  his  energy,  indomitable  will,  and  courage,  would 
never  have  been  able  to  accomplish  the  national  results  at  that  time  so  desir- 
able in  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

"  The  reader  of  history  in  the  future  will  realize,  even  more  than  this  gen- 
eration can  comprehend,  how  essential  to  national  unity  was  the  building  of 
the  Pacific  Railroad  at  the  time  when  it  was  built ;  and  will  do  justice  to  the 
memory  of  those  patriotic  and  courageous  men  who  staked  their  fortunes  on 
its  success  when  the  Union  cause  looked  dark  and  gloomy." 

FROM   HON.    GINERY   TWICHELL. 

"  The  resolve  offered  in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  in  favor  of  expung- 
ing the  resolution  of  censure  upon  your  father,  Oakes  Ames,  meets  my 
hearty  approval.  While  that  resolution  was  under  consideration  he  changed 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  for  one  adjoining  my  own.  On  ac- 
count of  the  feeble  state  of  his  health  at  that  time  he  was  often  absent,  and  I 
was  thus  in  a  position  to  render  him  my  friendly  services,  to  become  familiar 
with  his  affairs,  and  to  acquire  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  man  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  case  than  many  others.  Several  members  who  voted  to 
censure  him  told  him,  in  my  presence,  that  they  had  voted  against  their  con- 
victions to  satisfy  public  clamor  and  their  constituents.  I  hope  that  Congress 
will  nullify  a  vote  of  such  a  character  by  expunging  the  resolution  that  rests 


100  Letters. 

on  it,  and  thus  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  an  honest  man ;  for  I  think  I  have 
the  evidence  of  the  honesty  of  Oakes  Ames. 

"  I  knew  his  actions  and  motives  in  regard  to  the  Credit  Mobilier  stock. 
He  made  no  discrimination  in  its  sale  in  favor  of  such  members  of  Congress 
as  took  it,  but  disposed  of  it  to  all  parties  at  a  uniform  price.  With  that 
stock  I  had  nothing  to  do  ;  but  I  had  other  business  transactions  with  him,  in 
which  he  proved  to  be  more  than  honorable.  I  once  bargained  with  him  for 
a  parcel  of  real  estate  in  Brookline,  which  I  was  to  have  for  $4,500,  in  case 
he  sold  it  at  all.  It  was  sold  by  his  agent,  in  his  absence,  for  $6,000.  He 
was  not  legally  bound  to  me ;  but,  with  his  usual  magnanimity,  directed  his 
agent  to  pay  me  even  the  whole  purchase-money,  or  to  institute  proceedings 
to  recover  the  estate  for  me,  if  I  desired  to  secure  it. 

"  I  recall  another  instance  of  his  integrity.  A  quantity  of  iron,  which  he 
had  imported  for  use  in  his  business,  and  insured,  having  apparently  been 
injured  by  wet  and  rust,  the  insurance  company  had  the  damage  appraised, 
and  paid  him  $2,500  as  the  result.  But  on  coming  to  use  the  iron,  he  discov- 
ered that  there  had  really  been  no  damage,  and  he  voluntarily  refunded  the 
money. 

"  Oakes  Ames  needed  only  to  be  known  in  order  to  be  appreciated.  That 
justice  may  be  publicly  done  his  memory  is  my  most  sincere  wish." 

FROM   HON.   J.    B.    GRINNELL,    OF   IOWA. 

"  I  knew  Oakes  Ames  well  for  nearly  twenty  years,  though  I  had  no  pe- 
cuniary transactions  with  him.  I  regard  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  citizens 
of  our  common  country  and  an  incorruptible  patriot.  He  was  possessed  of  a 
comprehensive  mind  for  affairs,  and  his  heart  expanded  with  the  widest  and 
warmest  sympathies.  That  his  name  was  tarnished  by  a  thoughtless  political 
cowardice,  and  that  the  stain  will  in  good  time  be  effaced,  I  as  little  question 
as  I  do  that  truth  is  eternal.  Oakes  Ames  was  of  strictly  temperate  habits ; 
so  schooled  in  economy  that,  while  in  Congress,  he  chose  a  comparatively  in- 
expensive mode  of  life,  in  order  to  save  money  to  devote  to  charity. 

"  In  Iowa,  no  name  wears  more  honor  than  his,  for  he  periled  his  fortune 
to  build  the  first  railroad  across  our  State.  And  when  an  attempt  was  made 
to  stigmatize  our  Senator-elect,  James  F.  Wilson,  by  charging  that  he  had 
been  bribed  by  Oakes  Ames,  the  people  of  the  State  scouted  the  very  sugges- 
tion of  such  a  transaction,  and  indorsed  the  character  of  Ames  by  triumphantly 
sustaining  Wilson. 


Letters.  101 

"  On  my  leaving  Congress,  Mr.  Ames,  as  a  friend,  offered  me  Credit  Mo- 
bilier  stock  at  its  market  value.  If  his  purpose  had  been  to  influence  legis- 
lation, my  successor  and  those  in  Congress  should  have  been  the  selected 
recipients  of  his  favors.  Not  one  member  only,  but  no  less  than  ten  members 
of  that  Congress  which  wrought  such  an  injustice  have  declared  in  my  hearing 
that  the  act  was  a  foolish  concession  to  popular  clamor.  The  late  William  E. 
Dodge,  of  New  York,  openly  declared  it  to  be  '  cruelty,'  and  added  that,  if  it 
were  necessary,  he  would  consider  it  an  honor  to  share  his  last  dollar  with 
Oakes  Ames.  In  the  darkest  hours  of  the  war  Mr.  Lincoln  was  heard  to  say, 
'  The  proffer  of  money  by  Wadsworth,  Taylor,  Dodge,  and  the  cheer  of  the 
broad-shouldered  Ames,  who  imperils  his  own  credit  to  help  the  government, 
reassure  me.'  In  New  York  and  at  Alexandria,  Mr.  Ames  repeatedly  broke 
up  the  rings  that  were  formed  for  the  purpose  of  buying  condemned  material 
at  a  low  price.  On  two  different  Saturdays  I  accompanied  him  to  Alexandria 
on  a  patriotic  mission,  when  the  threats  of  the  conspirators  were  so  numerous 
and  loud  that  Secretary  Stanton  thanked  him  personally  for  the  service,  telling 
him  that  he  had  been  in  greater  danger  from  assassination  than  the  soldiers 
were  of  death  in  battle. 

"  As  a  legislator,  no  man's  opinions  were  more  eagerly  sought  or  highly 
prized  than  his,  particularly  in  currency  and  revenue  matters.  Mr.  Conkling 
would  say,  '  This  you  understand,  Ames  ;  others  do  not.'  Mr.  Thaddeus 
Stevens,  chairman  of  the  "Ways  and  Means  Committee,  on  all  doubtful  matters 
counted  on  Oakes  Ames  to  save  a  measure  or  kill  it,  though  he  never  made  a 
motion  or  a  speech.  It  is  known  who,  in  the  darkest  hours,  drew  the  largest 
checks  to  keep  the  loyal  party  in  power  ;  it  was  thoroughly  accordant  with 
the  broad  views  and  the  herculean  labors  of  the  real  builder  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad,  facilitating  gold-mining,  saving  millions  annually  in  the 
movement  of  troops  and  their  supplies  and  in  appropriations  for  the  Indian 
Department,  and,  more  than  all,  binding  the  Pacific  coast  in  new  and  perpet- 
ual allegiance  to  the  East. 

"  In  the  .financial  extremities  of  the  Union  Pacific  I  have  known  Mr.  Ames 
to  borrow  money  from  Senator  Grimes  and  others  at  ten  per  cent,  interest, 
with  a  pledge  of  half  the  profit  on  the  stock  used  as  collateral  to  his  name. 
Gen.  John  A.  Dix,  after  years  of  effort  to  enlist  capital,  as  the  president  of 
the  Union  Pacific,  gave  over  in  despair,  until  Oakes  Ames  came  to  the  rescue ; 
and  he  frequently  asserted  that  the  work  done  by  Oakes  Ames  was  of  greater 


102  Letters, 

importance  to  the  country  than  the  Erie  Canal,  and  that  his  name  would  be 
placed  in  history  beside  that  of  De  Witt  Clinton.  I  could  multiply  facts  and 
incidents,  but  they  would  only  be  in  corroboration  of  that  opinion  which  un- 
derlies the  rising  spirit  that  would  do  even  justice,  though  tardily,  to  a  great 
name  which  has  been  causelessly  aspersed. 

"  If  I  am  a  prejudiced  friend,  it  is  in  part  owing  to  the  fact  that  Oakes 
Ames  once  penciled  a  memorandum  promise  that  at  some  future  day  he  would 
begin  the  founding  of  a  professorship  in  Iowa  College  with  a  gift  of  six  thou- 
sand dollars ;  but  he  died  heart-broken  and  without  money.  Then  there  came 
a  notice  from  his  executors  that  '  there  is  no  money,  but  the  wishes  of  father 
will  be  sacredly  respected  when  we  are  able,  without  reference  to  legal  con- 
siderations.' They  were  respected,  when  Hon.  Oliver  Ames  sent  the  college 
six  thousand  dollars,  with  interest.  And  this  is  the  secret  of  a  partiality  for 
that  kind  of  blood,  reflecting  both  the  honor  and  the  generosity  of  a  noble 
father.  Who  that  saw  the  brave  old  man  going  home  to  die,  wounded  in  the 
house  of  his  professed  friends,  was  not  profoundly  moved  ?  For  one,  —  and  I 
feel  that  in  this  sentiment  I  am  not  alone,  —  I  would  make  a  journey  on  foot 
from  my  Iowa  home  to  Washington,  and  there  toil  for  a  whole  year,  to  see 
tardy  justice  done  to  the  fame  of  this  man,  who  forgot  himself  in  his  devotion 
to  his  country." 

FROM   WILLIAM   S.   EATON,   ESQ.,    OF   BOSTON. 

"  I  had  bought  a  note  signed  by  Thomas  Douglass,  I  think  for  about  five 
thousand  dollars.  Shortly  after,  I  met  Mr.  Oakes  Ames  on  State  Street,  and 
asked  him  about  Douglass'  standing  and  credit.  He  answered  cautiously, 
saying  that  the  product  of  your  works  was  so  large  that  you  had  to  take  some 
risks  which  might  not  be  first-class,  in  order  to  distribute  your  manufactures 
widely ;  but  that  he  thought  Douglass  was  good,  and  was  a  regular  buyer 
from  you.  I  asked  him  what  he  would  buy  the  note  for,  describing  the  one 
I  held.  He  named  a  rate,  and  I  accepted  it.  He  said,  '  Well,  I  cannot  take 
it  now,  as  I  am  just  going  away  for  several  days,  but  will  come  to  your  office 
and  get  it  when  I  return.' 

"  Before  he  returned  Douglass  failed.  A  week  after,  your  father  came  in 
and  asked  for  the  note.  I  said,  '  Douglass  has  failed,  and  I  have  no  claim  on 
you  for  the  amount.'  He  replied,  '  He  had  n't  failed  when  I  agreed  to  take 
the  note.  Take  off  the  interest,  and  I  will  give  you  a  check.'  And  he  did  so. 


Letters.  103 

I  have  told  this  story  to  many  of  our  merchants,  and  do  not  find  one  who 
knew  your  father  who  is  at  all  surprised  at  it ;  which  shows  the  estimate  in 
which  he  was  held  by  his  fellow-citizens." 

FROM   AARON    S.   REID,    ESQ.,    OF   NEW  YORK. 

"I  knew  your  father  intimately  for  many  years,  my  acquaintance  dating 
back,  perhaps,  before  your  birth.  I  know  of  no  man  whose  memory  I  hold 
in  greater  esteem,  for  he  was  to  my  mind  the  embodiment  of  truth  and  honor. 
When  his  word  was  passed  it  could  be  depended  on  as  much  as  his  bond  ;  and 
in  all  his  dealings  I  invariably  found  him  honorable  and  just.  I  could  narrate 
to  you  many  incidents  which  confirmed  in  me  the  great  respect  I  had  for 
him,  but  will  mention  only  two. 

"  I  met  him  one  day  during  the  war,  at  a  time  when  I  supposed  he  was 
elsewhere  ;  and  on  my  expressing  surprise  at  seeing  him  in  New  York,  he 
told  me  there  was  going  to  be  a  sale  of  old  iron  by  the  government ;  he  was 
going  to  protect  the  government  from  speculators,  and  to  see  that  fair  prices 
were  realized.  This  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  government,  at  a  time 
when  so  many  were  grasping  all  they  could,  was  to  me  a  striking  proof  of  his 
great  patriotism. 

"  At  another  time,  after  I  had  been  utterly  ruined  through  the  effects  of  the 
war  on  my  Southern  customers,  I  met  him  on  the  street.  He  inquired  what 
I  was  doing.  I  told  him  I  was  doing  nothing,  but  thought  I  could  get  busi- 
ness if  I  had  the  capital.  He  said  in  reply  that  he  had  no  idle  money  at  the 
time,  but  that  if  his  notes  for  $10,000  would  be  of  any  benefit  to  me  they 
were  at  my  command.  Perhaps  the  amount  named  was  $20,000.  The  finan- 
cial condition  I  was  then  in  made  the  offer  one  of  great  generosity,  —  one  I 
shall  always  remember,  as  friends  in  adversity  are  always  scarce.  But  that 
was  his  opportunity." 

FROM   GAMALIEL   BRADFORD,    ESQ.,    OF   BOSTON. 

"  I  remember  perfectly  when  Mr.  Ames  was  offering  the  Credit  Mobilier 
stock,  with  all  the  government  grants  and  privileges,  freely  on  State  Street, 
at  ninety-five  cents  on  the  dollar.  I  knew  that  one  of  our  oldest  and  most 
distinguished  bank  presidents  declined  to  buy  it  on  the  ground  of  excessive 
risk  in  building  a  railroad  through  such  a  country ;  and  that  one  of  our 
richest  private  bankers,  after  a  whole  morning  of  explanation  from  Mr.  Ames, 


104  Letters. 

refused  on  the  same  ground  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  I  know  that  Mr. 
Ames,  merely  to  oblige  a  business  friend,  gave  him,  when  he  took  some  of  the 
stock,  a  written  agreement  to  take  it  back  at  the  holder's  option  at  any  time 
within  four  months.  I  heard  one  of  the  largest  railroad  builders  and  presi- 
dents in  the  country  say,  at  a  public  dinner  given  him  by  his  associates,  that 
the  Union  Pacific  was  a  noble  enterprise,  and  would  enrich  their  descendants, 
but  that  it  was  too  big  for  him  to  go  into. 

"  I  myself  bought  of  Mr.  Ames  at  ninety-five  per  cent,  such  an  amount  as 
I  could  afford  to  lose,  as  I  thought  it  an  even  chance  whether  I  did  or  not. 

"  The  fact  is  the  public  were  so  exasperated  by  the  numerous  reports, 
whether  true  or  false,  of  secret  intrigue  and  corruption  that  they  pounced  on 
the  first  scapegoat  which  presented  itself.  In  such  cases  it  usually  happens 
that  the  great  rascals  cover  up  their  tracks,  and  the  innocent,  or  least  guilty, 
fall  as  victims.  The  very  simplicity  of  Mr.  Ames'  famous  phrase,  '  to  put  it 
where  it  would  do  the  most  good,'  is  conclusive  to  my  mind,  knowing  him  as 
I  did,  that  he  had  not  the  faintest  conception  of  the  construction  which  would 
be  placed  upon  it.  As  an  ambitious  man,  he  had,  besides  the  idea  of  making 
money,  that  of  connecting  his  name  with  the  most  splendid  material  achieve- 
ment of  the  century.  To  find  himself,  after  the  work  was  completed,  regarded 
by  Congress  as  a  criminal  was  too  much.  I  have  never  doubted  that  he  was 
killed  by  act  of  Congress  as  completely  as  if  that  body  had  condemned  him 
to  steel  or  poison." 

FROM   HON.   MARSHALL    P.    WILDER. 

"  I  rejoice  to  learn  that  there  is  to  be  an  application  to  Congress  to  wipe 
out  from  its  records  that  most  unwise,  unjust,  and  cruel  censure  of  your 
honored  father,  and  I  beg  the  privilege  of  adding  my  name  and  influence  (if 
I  have  any)  to  blot  out  this  most  improvident  act  of  our  national  assembly, 
which  otherwise  must  forever  be  a  disgrace  to  American  history. 

"  It  was  my  privilege  to  have  been  well  acquainted  with  him  (in  fact,  with 
his  father  and  his  brother  Oliver),  and  I  know  of  no  more  upright  or  worthy 
men  in  our  community  for  consistency  of  character,  integrity  of  heart,  or 
kindness  of  disposition.  It  is  therefore  a  foul  stain  of  ingratitude  on  the 
escutcheon  of  our  nation's  fame  to  allow  this  censure  of  a  most  benevolent 
and  patriotic  deed  to  exist  in  the  records  of  its  proceedings. 

"  Oakes  Ames  was  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  our  age  !    When  we 


Letters.  105 

think  of  his  benefactions  to  mankind  in  opening  up  across  our  continent  a 
great  highway  for  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  the  gratitude  which  will  for- 
ever live  in  the  hearts  of  mankind  for  this  wonderful  act,  we  feel  that  his 
memory  and  worth  will  be  honored  and  cherished  while  benevolence  is  appre- 
ciated, or  worthy  deeds  shall  have  a  place  in  the  heart  of  man.  Oakes  Ames 
is  dead !  but  as  time  advances  posterity  will  more  and  more  be  grateful  for  his 
great  benefactions,  and  will  give  him  a  place  among  those  philanthropists 
whose  labors  and  names  shall  live  when  monuments  shall  have  crumbled  into 
dust." 

FROM   HON.   EFFINGHAM   H.   NICHOLS,    OP   NEW   YORK. 

"  I  see  that  a  resolution  has  been  introduced  in  the  Legislature  of  Massa- 
chusetts, requesting  their  Representatives  in  Congress  to  initiate  measures, 
with  a  view  to  expunge  from  the  minutes  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
the  vote  of  censure  passed  in  March,  1873,  on  your  honored  father,  the  late 
Hon.  Oakes  Ames. 

"  The  extraordinary  reports  which  were  made  in  February,  1873,  by  the 
two  committees  of  the  House,  known  as  the  Poland  Committee  and  "Wilson 
Committee,  are  matters  of  history.  The  one  found  Mr.  Ames  guilty  of  brib- 
ery and  recommended  his  expulsion.  The  other  directed  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  (in  face  of  law)  to  retain  all  the  money  earned  by  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  for  government  transportation,  and  also  directed  the 
Attorney-General  to  bring  an  action  at  once  against  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company  and  the  stockholders  of  the  Construction  Company,  called 
the  Credit  Mobilier,  for  the  purpose  of  determining,  first,  what  frauds,  if  any, 
had  been  committed ;  and,  second,  what  profits  had  been  made,  and  whether 
the  same  should  not  be  paid  to  the  United  States.  Time  has  shown  that  both 
these  reports  had  their  origin  in  public  clamor  and  popular  prejudice,  and 
were  without  a  shadow  of  foundation,  as  respects  either  facts  or  law. 

"  As  to  the  report  of  the  Poland  Committee,  the  House  was  convinced  that 
the  committee  had  gone  too  far,  and  a  vote  of  censure  was  passed  in  the  place 
of  expulsion. 

"  The  report  of  the  Wilson  Committee  was  adopted,  and  in  due  time  the 
matter  came  before  the  courts  of  the  country.  In  an  action  brought  by  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  that  company  recovered  the  transportation 
money  unjustly  withheld  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  and  in  the  action 


106  Letters. 

brought  by  the  Attorney-General  against  the  Company  and  the  Stockholders  of 
the  Credit  Mobilier  (which  action  was  brought  in  the  District  of  Connecticut, 
where  all  the  defendants  were  obliged  to  appear  and  answer,  no  matter  where 
they  resided),  it  was  decided,  and  on  appeal  the  decision  confirmed,  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  that  there  was  no  ground  upon  which 
the  United  States  could  establish  any  claim  whatever  against  any  of  the  de- 
fendants. 

"  Fortunately  the  action  of  the  Wilson  Committee  was  comparatively  harm- 
less, except  as  to  the  costs  and  expenses  to  which  innocent  parties  were  sub- 
jected, and  the  financial  embarrassments  which  grew  out  of  the  delay  incident 
thereto.  The  calm  and  considerate  action  of  the  courts  stood  in  strange  con- 
trast with  that  of  a  committee  of  politicians,  swayed  and  governed  by  public 
clamor,  popular  prejudice,  and  personal  considerations. 

"  Not  so  with  the  action  of  the  Poland  Committee.  The  wrong  which  they 
initiated  was  then  and  there  consummated,  and  a  vote  of  censure  passed  upon 
one  of  the  most  honest,  sincere,  frank,  and  far-seeing  of  public  men. 

"  It  was  my  privilege  to  know  the  Hon.  Oakes  Ames  well,  and  to  be  on 
terms  of  comparative  intimacy  with  him  for  many  years.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  simplicity,  a  man  of  sterling  integrity,  a  man  of  the  strictest  econ- 
omy in  all  matters  relating  to  himself,  but  liberal  and  broad-gauged  in  all 
matters  appertaining  to  the  public  welfare  and  the  well-being  and  happiness 
of  his  friends  and  associates.  Bribery  -  and  corruption  never  entered  his 
thoughts.  As  respects  any  legislation  in  reference  to  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company,  there  was  no  motive  for  bribery.  All  the  necessary  acts  of 
Congress  in  reference  thereto  had  been  passed.  The  road  was  completed  in 
1868,  and  from  July  2,  1864,  to  the  date  of  the  censure  in  March,  1873,  no 
act  of  importance  in  relation  to  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  was 
passed,  or  attempted  to  be  passed,  except  the  act  of  December  20,  1867, 
authorizing  the  removal  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  office  from  the  city  of 
New  York  to  Boston. 

"It  was  not  till  1865  that  Mr.  Ames  became  interested  in  the  construction 
of  the  road.  He  was  urged  to  take  part  in  it.  The  work  to  be  accomplished 
was  great.  History  furnished  no  parallel.  The  Rebellion  had  disturbed 
finances,  and  securities  were  at  a  large  discount.  Both  materials  and  labor 
were  commanding  high  prices.  There  was  still  danger  that  we  might  lose 
our  possessions  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  In  comparison  with  it  the  Appian  Way, 


Letters.  107 

extending  from  Rome  to  Brundisium,  a  distance  of  about  350  miles,  the  con- 
struction of  which  exhausted  the  Roman  Treasury,  paled  into  insignificance. 

"  The  motive  that  actuated  Mr.  Ames  could  not  have  been  other  than  the 
satisfaction  of  taking  part  in  a  great  public  work  of  incalculable  importance 
to  the  government  and  country.  In  August,  18G7,  he  undertook  the  task  of 
completing  the  road,  and  in  time  he  accomplished  it.  It  cost  him  his  fortune ; 
nay,  more,  as  it  proved  in  the  end,  it  cost  him  his  life. 

"  When  I  consider  these  facts,  and  recall  your  honored  father  and  that  kind- 
ness of  heart  and  simplicity  of  manner  which  so  endeared  him  to  his  friends 
and  associates,  I  have  grave  doubts  about  the  propriety  of  the  resolution  in- 
troduced in  your  Legislature,  to  which  I  have  referred.  I  would  rather  read 
in  the  public  enactments  of  the  Legislature  of  the  old  Commonwealth  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, the  State  where  he  was  born  and  lived  and  died,  resolutions  ex- 
pressing their  faith  and  confidence  in  their  late  fellow-citizen,  Oakes  Ames, 
and  commending  his  example  to  the  on-coming  generations  as  that  of  a  great 
public  benefactor ;  and  leave  to  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  to  volunteer  such  action,  as  respects  its  records,  as  time  and  a  recurring 
sense  of  justice  shall  dictate. 

"  The  same  public  clamor  which  existed  in  the  days  of  Pontius  Pilate  has 
ever  since  been  sounding  down  through  the  centuries,  and  in  its  progress 
demanded  many  a  victim  among  the  great  and  good. 

"  Your  father  has  left  an  honorable  name —  a  name  which  will  live  in  his- 
tory when  the  granite  monument  to  his  memory  and  that  of  his  brother,  on 
the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  shall  have  crumbled  to  dust,  and  the 
names  of  his  calumniators  shall  have  been  forgotten." 

FROM  J.    W.  BALCH,  ESQ.,  PRESIDENT  OP   THE   BOYLSTON   FIRE   AND   MARINE 
INSURANCE  COMPANY,  OF   BOSTON. 

"  I  have  read  with  much  pleasure  the  Memorial  Volume  of  your  honored 
father,  the  late  Oakes  Ames,  and  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  one  or  two  acts 
of  his  life,  with  which  I  am  familiar,  were  so  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the 
man  that  they  might  be  of  interest  to  you. 

"  The  first  of  these  incidents  was  in  connection  with  the  loss  of  the  steamer 
Shooting  Star,  belonging  to  your  father  and  others,  and  by  him  insured  in  sun- 
dry insurance  companies  in  Boston,  to  the  amount  of  about  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  steamer  was  wrecked  on  Fire  Island  near  Timbalier  Light, 


108  Letters. 

in  a  gale  which  occurred  September  6,  1865.  The  protest  was  duly  presented, 
and  a  total  loss  was  paid  by  the  insurers,  under  the  policies,  to  your  father. 
After  the  lapse  of  some  months  intimations  were  received  that  the  steamer 
was  intentionally  wrecked  by  the  officers  in  charge.  This  rumor  was  brought 
to  your  father's  notice,  and  he,  on  confirmation  of  the  report,  promptly  re- 
funded to  the  insurance  companies  the  amounts  he  had  received  from  them. 
The  other  incident  was  the  case  of  a  shipment  of  shovel  steel  from  Liverpool, 
which  was  damaged  on  the  voyage  to  Boston  by  salt  water.  The  insurance 
companies  sent  an  expert  to  estimate  the  damage,  and  the  amount  of  such  es- 
timate was  paid  to  your  father.  After  a  few  weeks  he  called  at  the  office, 
and  reported  that  in  manufacturing  the  steel  into  shovels  the  damage  proved 
not  so  great  as  the  estimate,  and,  thereupon,  he  returned  to  the  companies 
the  larger  part  of  the  amount  paid  him." 


DEFENSE   OF   OAKES  AMES 


THE    CAPITAL    STOCK   OF   THE    CREDIT    MOBILIER    OF  AMERICA,  WITH   IN- 
TENT   TO    BRIBE    SAID    MEMBERS    OF    CONGRESS. 

Read  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  February  25,  1873. 

BEFORE  the  House  proceeds  to  the  consideration  of  the  resolution  reported 
on  Tuesday  last  by  the  special  committee  charged  with  the  investigations  of 
alleged  transactions  with  certain  members  of  this  body,  in  the  disposition  of 
shares  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  of  America,  I  desire  to  sub- 
mit the  following  statement :  — 

The  charges  on  which  said  resolution  is  based  relate  to  events  so  intimately 
connected  with  a  portion  of  the  history  of  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad  that  I  shall  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  House  while  I  proceed  to 
trace  such  history  in  greater  detail  than  would  otherwise  be  necessary. 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  1862,  was  passed  and  approved  an  Act  of  Con- 
gress authorizing  and  providing  for  the  construction  of  a  railroad  and  tele- 
graph line  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  practicability 
and  importance  of  such  a  measure  had  long  been  urged  by  our  most  sagacious 
public  men,  but  it  failed  to  receive  the  sanction  of  the  government  until  a 
great  civil  war  threatened  to  result  in  the  withdrawal  of  the  States  and  Ter- 
ritories of  the  Pacific  coast  from  the  authority  of  the  Federal  Government. 
For  a  variety  of  reasons,  then  long  before  the  public,  but  chiefly  to  avert  the 
calamity  indicated,  this  act  was  passed.  It  was  universally  esteemed  not  only 
a  measure  of  sound  policy,  but  a  scheme  appealing  to  the  patriotism  and  loy- 
alty of  the  capitalists  of  the  United  States,  as  the  instrument  whereby  a  future 
separation  of  the  Pacific  from  the  Atlantic  States  would  be  rendered  forever 
impossible. 

The  meeting  of  commissioners  named  in  the  act  to  carry  the  same  into  ef- 


110  Defense  of  Oakes  Ames. 

feet,  by  the  organization  of  the  corporation,  was  held  pursuant  to  Act  of  Con- 
gress on  the  first  Tuesday  of  September,  1862.  Though  composed  of  a  great 
number  of  the  leading  capitalists  of  the  country,  and,  in  addition  to  the  ordi- 
nary inducement  of  pecuniary  advantage,  acting  under  the  stimulus  of  patri- 
otic ardor,  the  meeting  failed  to  accomplish  anything  beyond  the  opening  of 
books  of  subscription.  Not  a  dollar  of  stock  was  subscribed  or  promised ; 
and  it  was  not  until  about  the  27th  of  October,  1863,  —  and  then  only  with 
the  explicit  understanding  on  the  part  of  the  subscribers  that,  in*  case  of  failure 
to  secure  future  legislation,  the  project  must  be  abandoned,  —  that  a  sufficient 
subscription  was  obtained  to  authorize  the  election  of  a  board  of  directors. 
On  this  subscription  was  the  name  of  no  recognized  capitalist.  Parties  known 
to  the  country  as  wielding  large  capital  in  railroad  enterprises  had  studiously 
avoided  all  apparent  association  with  the  enterprise,  and  in  their  place  ap- 
peared a  class  of  comparatively  unknown  men,  whose  names,  when  rising  to 
the  surface,  had  been  chiefly  connected  with  enterprises  involving  speculative 
and  extra-hazardous  risks.  Until  the  passage  of  the  law  heretofore  mentioned, 
nothing  was  done  under  this  organization  beyond  such  acts  as  were  necessary 
to  preserve  the  existence  of  the  corporation. 

Then  came  the  act  of  July  2, 1864.  Its  principal  features  were  as  follows : 
It  authorized  a  reduction  of  the  par  value  of  the  shares  from  one  thousand  to 
one  hundred  dollars,  with  a  corresponding  increase  in  number ;  it  enlarged  the 
land  grant  from  a  ten  to  a  twenty  mile  limit ;  it  authorized  the  company  to  is- 
sue first  mortgage  bonds  on  its  railroad  and  telegraph,  to  an  amount  per  mile 
equal  to  the  amount  of  United  States  bonds  authorized  to  be  issued  to  the 
company  in  aid  of  the  construction  of  the  road,  and  made  the  mortgage  secur- 
ing the  same  a  lien  prior  to  that  of  the  United  States ;  it  declared  that  only 
one  half  of  the  compensation  for  services  rendered  for  the  government  should 
be  required  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  bonds  issued  by  the  govern- 
ment in  aid  of  construction.  While  thus  strengthening  the  company  by  these 
changes,  Congress  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  act  dealt  it  two  well-nigh 
fatal  blows,  from  the  effect  of  which  complete  recovery  is  impossible.  It  au- 
thorized the  Kansas  Pacific,  which  was  required  to  effect  a  junction  with  the 
Union  Pacific  not  farther  west  than  the  one  hundredth  meridian  of  longitude, 
—  a  distance  of  about  247  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  River,  —  to  make  such 
connection  at  any  point  westwardly  of  such  initial  point  deemed  practicable  or 
desirable.  The  result  is  a  rival  parallel  road  connecting  with  the  Union  Pa- 


Defense  of  Oakes  Ames.  Ill 

cific  at  a  point  516  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  River,  —  being  one  half  the 
length  of  that  road,  —  and  claiming  equal  advantages  and  facilities  in  all  run- 
ning connections  and  interchange  of  business.  It  likewise  provided  that,  in 
case  the  Central  Pacific  should  reach  the  eastern  boundary  of  California  be- 
fore the  Union  Pacific  should  be  built  to  that  point,  the  former  company  should 
have  the  right  to  extend  its  road  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  eastward  ;  and 
this  power  was  afterward  enlarged  by  Congress  by  act  of  July  2,  1866,  so  as 
to  authorize  such  extension  indefinitely,  until  the  two  roads  should  meet. 
Thus,  by  Act  of  Congress  these  two  corporations  were  sent  forth  upon  a  race 
across  the  continent,  which  finally  culminated  in  the  construction  of  five  hun- 
dred miles  of  road  by  each  company  in  a  single  season,  through  a  desert  coun- 
try, upon  a  route  beset  by  unparalleled  obstacles,  and  at  a  necessary  cost 
largely  in  excess  of  the  most  extravagant  estimates. 

It  is  in  testimony  before  a  committee  of  the  House  that  after  the  impracti- 
cability of  building  the  road  under  the  first  act  had  been  demonstrated,  when 
it  had  become  apparent  that  additional  aid  was  necessary,  to  induce  capitalists 
to  embark  in  the  enterprise  the  late  President  Lincoln  was  urgent  that  Con- 
gress should  not  withhold  the  additional  assistance  asked,  and  that  he  person- 
ally advised  the  officers  of  the  company  to  go  to  Congress  for  such  legislation 
as  would  assure  the  success  of  the  enterprise ;  declaring  it  a  national  necessity, 
and  recommending  them  to  apply  for  additional  concessions,  ample  to  place  the 
construction  of  the  road  beyond  a  peradventure. 

Notwithstanding  this  favorable  legislation,  no  capital  was  attracted,  no  ad- 
ditional stock  was  subscribed.  On  the  8th  of  August,  1864,  a  contract  for 
building  one  hundred  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  River  was  let  to  H.  M.  Hoxie, 
the  only  contractor  offering  to  undertake  so  hazardous  a  venture.  Six  months 
demonstrated  his  inability  to  perform  his  contract ;  and,  with  the  experience 
of  the  company  in  dealing  with  individual  contractors,  no  course  seemed  open 
except  to  seek  a  consolidation  of  personal  means  into  a  corporate  body, 
whereby  the  pecuniary  ability  of  a  large  number  of  persons  might  be  made 
available  to  the  task  of  constructing  the  road,  while  at  the  same  time  enjoying 
the  shelter  of  corporate  liability  only.  Accordingly,  by  a  contract  made 
March  15,  1865,  the  Credit  Mobilier  of  America,  a  corporation  created  by 
and  organized  under  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania,  in  substance  assumed  the  obli- 
gations of  the  Hoxie  contract,  and  entered  upon  its  performance.  It  was  soon 
manifest  that  even  this  organization,  as  then  constituted,  would  be  unable  to 


112  Defense  of  Oakes  Ames. 

accomplish  the  work  for  which  it  was  created.  The  state  of  the  country  and 
the  peculiar  local  conditions  surrounding  the  enterprise  were  exceedingly  un- 
favorable to  a  successful  prosecution  of  the  work.  Gold  was  one  hundred  and 
fifty  ;  there  was  no  market  for  the  first  mortgage  bonds  ;  and  the  government 
bonds,  payable  in  currency,  were  of  uncertain  value  and  of  difficult  sale.  No 
eastern  railroad  connection  existed  whereby  the  vast  amount  of  material  essen- 
tial to  construction  could  find  reasonable  and  rapid  transportation  to  the  line 
of  the  road ;  it  was  compelled,  instead,  to  follow  the  long  and  tedious  route 
of  the  Missouri  River,  at  an  extraordinary  cost  of  transportation,  and  without 
insurance  against  the  perils  of  the  hazardous  navigation  of  that  treacherous 
stream.  All  materials  were  high,  and  all  classes  of  labor  scarce,  and  only  to 
be  obtained  in  limited  quantities  at  extravagant  prices.  Add  to  this  the  uni- 
versal distrust  in  financial  circles  of  the  ultimate  completion  of  the  road,  and 
the  general  conviction  that  when  completed  it  would  fail  to  prove  remunera- 
tive or  profitable,  and  it  is  easy  to  anticipate  the  result  which  speedily  followed : 
viz.,  the  practical  failure  of  the  new  organization  to  carry  forward  the  work 
until  reinforced  by  a  new  class  of  capitalists,  bringing  with  them  larger  means 
and  a  more  powerful  influence  in  the  financial  world. 

Early  in  September,  1865,  it  became  manifest  that  the  contract  could  not 
be  performed,  and  that  the  work  must  stop  unless  additional  strength  could  be 
imparted  to  the  corporation.  Accordingly,  after  urgent  solicitation  and  long 
consideration,  myself  and  others  associated  with  me  for  the  first  time  took  an 
interest  in  the  organization.  Its  capital  stock  was  increased,  additional  money 
was  raised,  and  the  work  went  forward.  Under  this  arrangement  two  hundred 
and  forty-seven  miles  of  road  were  built,  when,  on  the  16th  day  of  August, 
1867,  it  was  superseded  by  the  Oakes  Ames  contract,  so  called ;  and  this  con- 
tract was  on  the  15th  day  of  October,  1867,  assigned  to  seven  persons,  as 
trustees,  and  under  it  six  hundred  and  sixty-seven  miles  of  road  were  built. 

The  alleged  corrupt  transactions  imputed  to  me  are  all  charged  to  have 
been  initiated  in  December,  1867.  Glance  for  a  moment  at  the  situation  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Company  and  my  connection  with  it  at  that  time.  After  a 
long  and  nearly  ineffectual  struggle,  the  final  construction  of  the  road  had 
been  assured  by  my  intervention  in  its  affairs.  No  one  doubted  that  it  would 
'  be  rapidly  pushed  to  completion.  Congress  had  long  before,  and  not  at  my 
instance,  enacted  the  laws  tendering  inducements  to  the  capitalists  of  the  coun- 
try to  embark  in  the  construction  of  the  road,  and  I  and  my  associates  ac- 


Defense  of  Oakes  Ames.  113 

cepted  its  offers,  and  undertook  the  work.  The  company  had  no  reason  to 
apprehend  unfriendly  or  hostile  legislation,  for  every  department  of  the  govern- 
ment manifested  a  friendly  attitude,  and  the  whole  country  was  loud  in  dem- 
onstrations of  approval  of  the  energy  and  activity  which  we  had  infused  into 
the  enterprise.  Heads  of  departments  and  government  officials  of  every  grade, 
whose  duties  brought  them  in  contact  with  the  affairs  of  the  company,  were 
clamorous  for  increased  speed  of  construction,  and  never  lost  an  opportunity 
of  expressing  approval  of  the  work,  and  urging  it  forward.  It  had  never 
entered  my  mind  that  the  company  would  ask  for  or  need  additional  legisla- 
tion, and  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find  a  man  so  reckless  of  popular 
opinion  as  to  have  lent  himself  to  a  crusade  against  an  organization  whose 
praises  everywhere  filled  the  press  and  were  on  the  lips  of  the  people. 

As  a  matter  of  history,  no  legislation  at  all  affecting  the  pecuniary  interests 
of  the  company  was  asked  for,  for  three  years  and  a  half  after  the  date  of  the 
alleged  sales  by  me  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock,  and  then  only  in  settlement 
of  a  purely  judicial  question,  suddenly  and  without  warning  sprung  upon  it, 
in  a  critical  period  of  its  fortunes,  and  in  relation  to  which  no  controversy  had 
ever  before  been  made.  Under  no  other  state  of  affairs  and  in  no  other  at- 
titude of  the  government  could  I  for  a  moment  have  been  induced  to  assume 
the  enormous  responsibility  entailed  by  a  contract  involving  a  liability  of 
forty-seven  millions  of  dollars.  To  undertake  the  construction  of  a  railroad, 
at  any  price,  for  a  distance  of  nearly  seven  hundred  miles  in  a  desert  and  un- 
explored country,  its  line  crossing  three  mountain  ranges  at  the  highest  ele- 
vations yet  attempted  on  this  continent,  extending  through  a  country  swarm- 
ing with  hostile  Indians,  by  whom  locating  engineers  and  conductors  of 
construction  trains  were  repeatedly  killed  and  scalped  at  their  work ;  upon 
a  route  destitute  of  water,  except  as  supplied  by  water-trains,  hauled  from  one 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  to  thousands  of  men  and  animals  engaged  in 
construction ;  the  immense  mass  of  material,  iron,  ties,  lumber,  timber,  pro- 
visions, and  supplies  necessary  to  be  transported  from  five  hundred  to  fifteen 
hundred  miles,  —  I  admit  might  well,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  history  and 
the  mutations  of  opinion,  be  regarded  as  the  freak  of  a  madman,  if  it  did  not 
challenge  the  recognition  of  a  higher  motive,  namely,  the  desire  to  connect 
my  name  conspicuously  with  the  greatest  public  work  of  the  present  century. 
It  is  by  no  means  strange  that  my  credit  with  conservative  financiers  like 
8 


114  Defense  of  Oakes  Ames. 

Governor  Washburn  should  have  been  shaken,  and  that  he  should  have  has- 
tened to  call  in  loans  which,  in  his  judgment,  this  contract  proved  to  be  in 
unsafe  hands. 

Under  these  circumstances,  with  all  legislation  sought,  granted,  and  no 
future  action  of  Congress  to  be  asked  for  or  feared,  it  is  charged  that  I  "  have 
been  guilty  of  selling  to  members  of  Congress  shares  of  stock  in  the  Credit 
Mobilier  of  America  for  prices  below  the  true  value  of  such  stock,  with  in- 
tent to  influence  the  votes  and  decisions  of  such  members  in  matters  to  be 
brought  before  Congress  for  action." 

'  If  this  charge  is  true,  it  is  predicated  upon  three  facts,  all  of  which  should 
be  shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  this  body,  in  order  to  justify  the  extreme  meas- 
ures recommended  by  the  committee  :  — 

First.  The  shares  must  have  been  sold  at  prices  so  manifestly  and  palpa- 
bly below  the  true  value  as  to  conclusively  presume  the  expectation  of  some 
other  pecuniary  advantage  in  addition  to  the  price  paid. 

Second.  The  shares  must  have  been  of  such  a  nature  as  that  the  ownership 
would  create  in  the  holder  a  corrupt  purpose  to  shape  legislation  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  seller. 

Third.  Some  distinct  and  specific  matter  or  thing  to  be  brought  before 
Congress,  and  on  which  the  votes  and  decisions  of  members  are  sought  to  be 
influenced,  should  be  alleged  and  proved. 

It  is  by  no  means  clear,  from  the  testimony,  that  the  stock  was  sold  at  a 
price  less  than  its  true  value.  It  was  not  on  the  market ;  it  had  no  market 
value.  Unlike  an  ordinary  marketable  commodity,  it  had  no  current  price, 
and  the  amount  for  which  it  could  be  sold  depended  upon  the  temperament  of 
the  buyer  and  his  inclination  to  assume  extraordinary  risks  on  the  one  hand,  or 
his  tendency  to  conservative  and  strictly  solid  investments  on  the  other.  It  is 
in  proof  before  a  committee  of  this  House,  by  witnesses  largely  interested  in 
railroad  construction  and  operation,  and  of  great  financial  ability  and  strength, 
that  when  this  stock  was  offered  to  them  at  par  it  was  instantly  declined,  by 
reason  of  the  enormous  risks  involved  in  the  enterprises  on  which  its  value 
depended.  These  capitalists  believed  that  all  the  capital  invested  in  the  stock 
was  jeopardized,  and  the  venture  was  declined,  on  the  rule  that  no  promise  of 
profit  justifies  a  prudent  man  in  embarking  in  any  enterprise  in  which  all  the 
capital  invested  is  liable  to  be  sunk.  Apart  from  some  proof  that  a  small 
amount  of  this  stock  changed  hands  between  persons  addicted  to  speculation, 


Defense  of  Oakes  Ames.  115 

at  about  150,  nothing  is  shown  in  reference  to  its  value  except  that  it  was  not 
on  the  market,  and  had  no  ascertained  price.  To  overturn  the  presumption 
of  innocence,  and  substitute  the  conclusive  imputation  of  guilt,  from  the  sim- 
ple fact  of  such  a  transaction  occurring  between  men  who  had  long  maintained 
the  most  friendly  personal  relations,  —  of  whom  nothing  was  asked,  and  by 
whom  nothing  was  promised,  —  is  to  overturn  all  the  safeguards  afforded  per- 
son and  property  by  the  common  law,  and  in  lieu  thereof  establish  an  inquisi- 
torial code,  under  which  no  man's  reputation  is  safe. 

It  has  been  assumed  that  the  ownership  of  Credit  Mobilier  stock  necessarily 
created  in  the  holder  a  personal  and  pecuniary  interest  in  procuring  congres- 
sional legislation  favorable  to  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  or  prevent- 
ing legislation  adverse  to  it.  At  the  date  of  the  alleged  distribution  of  Credit 
Mobilier  stock,  the  Oakes  Ames  contract  had  been  made,  and  was  in  progress 
of  execution.  It  was  completed,  and  the  road  covered  by  the  contract  turned 
over  to  the  company  about  the  close  of  the  year  1868.  Not  until  two  years 
after  was  any  legislation  asked  for  by  the  company,  and  then  it  was  such  as 
arose  out  of  exigencies  presented  by  the  action  of  the  government  in  re- 
versing a  long-continued  and  uniform  previous  policy,  which  could  not,  by 
any  possibility,  have  been  foreseen  or  anticipated.  The  stock  depended  for 
its  value  upon  the  connection  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  with  the  Oakes  Ames 
contract,  which  was  simply  in  the  capacity  of  a  guarantor  of  its  execution, 
whereby  a  certain  class  of  its  stockholders  became  entitled  to  participate  in 
the  profits  of  that  contract  in  money.  There  is  no  provision  of  the  Oakes 
Ames  contract,  the  assignment  thereof,  or  of  the  triplicate  agreement,  whereby 
a  stockholder  became  entitled  to  any  of  the  securities  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company,  or  in  any  way  interested  in  their  value.  The  profits  de- 
rived, if  any,  were  to  be,  and  were,  in  cash.  When  the  Oakes  Ames  contract 
was  completed,  and  the  consideration  thereof  divided  in  cash  to  the  several 
parties  entitled,  in  due  proportion,  the  interest  of  a  holder  of  Credit  Mobilier 
stock  in  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  and  everything  pertaining  to  it, 
was  at  an  end.  In  other  words,  the  stipulations  of  that  contract  and  the  cash 
profits  derivable  therefrom  were  the  end  and  the  beginning,  the  centre  and 
circumference,  —  the  absolute  measure  of  the  pecuniary  interest  of  a  holder 
of  Credit  Mobilier  stock  in  1868.  To  say  that  the  Washburn  bill,  which  pro- 
fessed to  deal  exclusively  with  the  operation  of  the  road  in  the  hands  of  the 
company  after  it  had  been  built  and  turned  over  by  the  contractors,  was  a 


116  Defense  of  Oakes  Ames. 

measure  feared,  and  to  protect  the  railroad  company  against  which  the  stock 
in  question  was  sold  to  members  of  Congress,  seems  to  me  to  invoke  the  last 
extreme  of  credulity. 

It  is  impossible  to  impute  to  me  the  purpose  to  corruptly  influence  mem- 
bers of  Congress  by  conferring  upon  them  pecuniary  benefit  without  adequate 
consideration,  unless  the  benefit  conferred  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  neces- 
sarily create  an  inclination  to  aid  the  donor  to  the  detriment  of  the  public. 
There  is  but  one  escape  from  this  position,  and  that  leads  to  a  lower  deep. 
It  may  be  said  that  the  giving  by  any  person  and  the  receiving  by  a  member 
of  Congress  of  any  gratuity  whatever,  or,  what  is  identical  therewith,  selling 
and  buying  at  an  inadequate  price,  imports  corruption  in  both  the  giver  and 
receiver,  the  buyer  and  seller.  Whoever  proclaims  this  doctrine  should  in- 
stantly set  on  foot  the  inquiry  how  many  railroad  presidents  and  superinten- 
dents have  presented  to  members  of  Congress  the  value  of  transportation  over 
their  respective  railroad  lines,  and  by  whom  the  same  have  been  received,  to 
the  end  that  justice  may  be  done,  and  the  one  presented  for  indictment  and 
the  other  for  expulsion.  The  dimensions  and  value  of  the  gratuity  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  question.  There  is  no  middle  ground  on  which  to 
stand. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  any  tribunal,  this  body  has  before  it  an 
alleged  offender  without  an  offense.  Any  person  accused  in  the  courts  of  the 
country,  under  like  circumstances,  might  well,  when  called  upon  to  plead  to 
the  indictment,  insist  that  it  failed  to  charge  a  crime.  I  am  charged  by  the 
committee  with  the  purpose  of  corrupting  certain  members  of  Congress, 
while  it,  at  the  same  time,  declares  said  members  to  have  been  unconscious  of 
my  purpose,  and  fails  to  indicate  the  subject  of  the  corruption.  In  other 
words,  the  purpose  to  corrupt  is  inferred,  where  the  effect  of  corrupting  could 
not  by  possibility  be  produced,  and  where  no  subject  for  corruption  existed. 
No  lawyer  who  values  his  reputation  will  assert  that  an  indictment  for  bribery 
could  stand  for  an  instant  in  a  common  law  court  without  specifically  alleging 
who  was  the  briber,  who  was  bribed,  and  what  precise  measure,  matter  or 
thing  was  the  subject  of  bribery.  There  can  be  no  attempt  to  bribe  without 
the  hope  and  purpose  of  corruptly  influencing  some  person  or  persons  in  re- 
spect to  some  particular  act.  Until,  therefore,  it  is  alleged  and  shown  not 
only  who  tendered  a  bribe,  but  who  accepted  or  refused  it,  and  what  was  the 
specific  subject  matter  of  the  bribery,  any  conviction  which  may  follow  the 


Defense  of  OaTces  Ames.  117 

alleged  offense  must  rest  upon  the  shifting  and  unstable  foundation  of  in- 
dividual caprice,  and  not  upon  the  solid  rock  of  justice  administered  under  the 
restraints  of  law. 

I  shall  not  enter  upon  a  discussion  of  the  jurisdiction  of  this  body  over 
offenses  alleged  to  have  been  committed  during  a  previous  Congress,  leaving 
that  question  for  such  additional  comment  as  the  lawyers  of  the  House  choose 
to  make.  The  position,  however,  that  the  fault  —  if  such  exists  —  is  a  con- 
tinuing offense  is  so  extraordinary,  and  fruitful  of  such  fatal  consequences, 
that  I  cannot  forbear  a  reference  to  it.  Since  the  Credit  Mobil  ier  stock  sold 
by  me  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  several  members  of  Congress  referred  to 
in  the  report,  I  have  been,  in  the  judgment  of  the  committee,  a  perpetual  and 
chronic  offender  against  the  dignity  and  honor  of  the  House,  and  so  far  as 
my  own  volition  is  concerned  must  so  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world.  So 
long  as  a  single  share  of  this  stock  shall  not  be  restored,  but  shall  remain  in 
the  hands  of  the  several  receivers,  or  either  or  any  of  them,  my  offense  goes  on, 
and  I  am  bereft  of  the  power  to  stop  it.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  the  world 
is  now  apprised  of  my  alleged  corrupt  intentions,  —  and  no  member  of  Con- 
gress can  be  ignorant  of  them,  —  the  parties  who  alone  have  the  power  but 
fail  to  release  me  from  the  necessity  of  continuing  my  offenses,  by  return  of 
the  stock,  are  themselves  without  blame,  and  in  no  way  obnoxious  to  the  sins 
laid  upon  me.  The  committee  declare  that  want  of  knowledge  alone  of  the 
corrupt  intention  of  the  seller  excused  the  buyer,  while  holding  and  owning 
the  proceeds  of  the  sale.  Now  that  such  knowledge  is  everywhere  and 
among  all  men,  how  can  this,  in  the  absence  of  a  restoration  of  the  stock  or 
its  proceeds,  be  a  living,  continuing,  perpetual  crime  in  the  seller,  and  not  in 
the  buyer  ? 

I  beg  to  be  correctly  understood  :  I  allege  nothing  against  those  members 
of  the  House  who  purchased  Credit  Mobilier  stock.  I  am  simply  following 
the  reasoning  of  the  committee  to  its  logical  results.  I  make  no  assault  upon 
any  man  or  class  of  men,  but  I  most  earnestly  protest  against  being  chosen 
the  victim  of  a  line  of  reasoning  and  assertion,  in  my  judgment  unjust  par- 
tial, unsound,  inconsistent,  and  inconclusive,  —  calculated,  if  indorsed,  to  bring 
this  body  into  disrepute,  and  repugnant  to  the  sense  of  justice  and  fair  play 
imbedded  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people. 

Reference  is  made  by  the  committee  to  the  act  of  February  26,  1863,  and 
after  setting  out  the  same  the  following  language  is  used  :  "  In  the  judgment 


118  Defense  of  Oakes  Ames. 

of  the  committee,  the  facts  reported  in  regard  to  Mr.  Ames  and  Mr.  Brooks 
would  have  justified  their  conviction  under  the  above-recited  statutes,  and  sub- 
jected them  to  the  penalties  therein  provided."  I  beg  gentlemen  to  note  the 
entire  section  carefully  and  critically,  and  verify  the  assertion  I  now  make, 
that  every  penalty  denounced  upon  him  who  shall  "  promise,  offer,  or  give, 
or  cause,  or  procure  to  be  promised,  offered,  or  given,  .  .  .  any  valuable 
thing  ...  to  any  member  of  Congress,  .  .  .  with  intent  to  influence  his 
vote  on  any  ma'tter  pending  or  to  be  brought  before  him,"  is  alike  launched 
with  impartial  severity  against  any  member,  officer,  or  person  who  shall  in 
anywise  accept  or  receive  the  same,  —  NOT  knowingly,  willfully,  or  feloniously 
receive  the  same,  but  IN  ANYWISE  accept  or  receive  the  same.  Mark  the 
language :  "  And  the  member,  officer,  or  person  who  shall  in  ANYWISE  ac- 
cept or  receive  the  same,  or  any  part  thereof,  shall  be  liable  to  an  indict- 
ment as  for  a  high  crime  and  misdemeanor,  and  shall,  upon  conviction  thereof, 
be  fined  not  exceeding  ten  times  the  amount  so  offered,  promised,  or  given, 
and  imprisoned  in  a  penitentiary  not  exceeding  ten  years." 

Again  I  protest  against  the  conclusion  of  the  committee,  which  makes  this 
unequal,  partial,  and  discriminating  allotment  of  the  penalties  of  a  statute  de- 
signed by  its  framers  impartially  to  strike  or  shelter  all  to  whom  it  applies. 
Whatever  result  may  be  reached  here,  none  can  doubt  that  in  the  courts  of 
the  country  there  will  be  one  law  for  all. 

Aside,  then,  from  the  letters  addressed  to  Mr.  McComb,  it  is  impossible  to 
infer  the  motives  attributed  to  me  by  the  committee.  Mr.  McComb  claimed 
that  about  $20,000  of  the  $25,000  of  stock  voted  me  to  fulfill  my  obligations 
to  my  friends  should  be  given  him  for  distribution  among  his  friends ;  and  the 
letters  to  him  were  written  to  show  that  I  was  selling  the  stock  in  small  quan- 
tities to  my  friends  and  could  not  give  his  friends  the  entire  amount  they  de- 
sired. A  perfect  understanding  of  the  circumstances  under  which  these  letters 
were  written,  and  a  candid  consideration  of  their  object  and  purpose,  must,  I 
think,  carry  to  any  unbiased  mind  the  conviction  that  my  motives  were  very 
far  from  those  ascribed  to  me.  Mr.  Durant,  Mr.  McComb,  and  myself  were 
each  anxious  to  secure  as  large  a  portion  as  possible  of  the  shares  of  Credit 
Mobilier  stock,  and  professedly  for  the  same  purpose :  namely,  for  disposition 
to  those  persons  with  whom,  from  past  favors  or  personal  friendship,  we  were 
willing  to  share  opportunities  of  profitable  investment.  I  had  no  desire  or  ex- 
pectation to  further  enrich  myself,  for  my  sole  object  was  to  get  and  retain  as 


Defense  of  Oakes  Ames.  119 

much  of  this  stock  as  possible,  to  be  used  in  redeeming  obligations  of  the  char- 
acter named.  These  obligations  had  been  incurred  not  only  to  members  of 
Congress,  but  to  many  private  citizens  in  no  way  connected  with  official  life ; 
they  had  been  contracted  early  in  the  year  1867,  when  the  stock  could  not  be 
sold  above  par,  and  it  was  to  meet  these  contracts  that  I  made  special  efforts 
to  obtain  the  stock.  In  doing  so,  I  took  it,  not  for  my  individual  use,  but  as 
trustee,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  conveying  it  to  the  parties  entitled ;  and  it 
would  have  been  a  breach  of  faith  in  me  to  have  asked  or  taken  a  price  in 
excess  of  the  par  value,  notwithstanding  it  may  have  in  the  mean  time  ad- 
vanced. No  distinction  was  made  between  members  of  Congress  and  unoffi- 
cial friends,  and  in  performing  the  obligations  I  had  incurred  I  sold  to  both 
alike  stock  at  its  par  value,  in  accordance  with  my  agreement.  When,  there- 
fore, Mr.  McComb  objected  to  my  receiving  so  large  an  amount,  and  entered 
upon  a  struggle  to  prevent  it,  I  naturally  addressed  to  him  such  arguments  and 
considerations  as  in  my  judgment  would  make  the  deepest  impression  upon  his 
mind.  It  so  happened  that  in  the  prosperity  and  success  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  Mr.  McComb  and  myself  had  a  common  and  identical  in- 
terest, and  I  therefore  urged  upon  him  that  I  had  so  disposed  of  the  stock  as 
to  enhance  the  general  strength  and  influence  of  the  company,  for  whose  wel- 
fare his  solicitude  was  not  less  than  my  own.  It  is  no  sufficient  answer  to  this 
to  say  that  the  statement  contained  in  the  letters  on  which  I  most  relied  to 
influence  his  mind,  I  now  concede  contained  expressions  liable  to  be  construed 
against  the  purity  of  my  motives.  Tried  by  the  test  of  casual  and  confidential 
letters,  —  often  written  hastily,  and  under  circumstances  and  surroundings  en- 
tirely different  from  those  in  the  light  of  which  they  are  interpreted,  framed 
for  a  specific  purpose  and  to  accomplish  a  particular  end,  their  collateral  and 
incidental  bearings  not  reflected  upon  and  deliberately  weighed,  but  flung  off 
hastily  in  the  instant  press  of  business  and  the  freedom  of  that  personal  confi- 
dence ordinarily  existing  between  parties  jointly  concerned  in  financial  schemes 
or  enterprises  of  public  improvement, — he  would,  indeed,  be  a  cautious,  a  pru- 
dent, a  wise,  and  almost  perfect  man  who  could  emerge  from  such  an  ordeal 
completely  free  from  the  suspicion  of  fault. 

I  wish,  therefore,  to  declare,  in  the  broadest  sense  of  which  language  is  capa- 
ble, that  in  writing  the  McComb  letters  I  had  alone  in  view  the  objects  above 
enumerated ;  that  I  never  for  an  instant  imagined  that  from  them  could  be  ex- 
tracted proof  of  the  motive  and  purpose  of  corrupting  members  of  Congress, — 


120  Defense  of  Oakes  Ames. 

motives  and  purposes  which  I  solemnly  declare  I  never  entertained.  The  in- 
significant amounts  of  stock  sold  to  each  member  with  whom  I  had  dealings, 
the  proven  fact  that  I  never  urged  its  purchase,  and  the  entire  lack  of  secrecy 
—  ordinarily  the  badge  of  evil  purposes  —  in  these  transactions  ought,  in  my 
judgment,  to  stand  as  a  conclusive  refutation  of  the  offenses  charged.  And 
above  and  beyond  this,  I  submit  that  a  long  and  busy  life  spent  in  the  prose- 
cution of  business  pursuits  honorable  to  myself  and  useful  to  mankind,  and  a 
reputation  hitherto  without  stain,  should  of  its  own  weight  overcome  and  out- 
weigh charges  solely  upheld  by  the  unconsidered  and  unguarded  utterances 
of  confidential  business  communications. 

'  A  vast  amount  of  error  has  been  disseminated,  and  prejudice  aroused  in  the 
minds  of  many,  by  incorrect  and  extravagant  statements  of  the  profits  accruing 
from  the  different  contracts  for  the  construction  of  the  road,  and  especially 
that  commonly  known  as  the  Oakes  Ames  contract.  The  risk,  the  state  of 
the  country,  the  natural  obstacles,  the  inflation  of  the  currency  and  consequent 
exorbitant  prices  of  labor  and  material,  the  Indian  perils,  the  unparalleled 
speed  of  construction,  and  the  clamorous  demands  of  the  country  for  speedy 
completion  seem  to  be  forgotten,  and  the  parties  connected  with  the  Credit 
Mobilier  and  the  construction  of  the  road  are  now  to  be  tried  by  a  standard 
foreign  to  the  time  and  circumstances  under  which  the  work  was  done.  It  is 
said  that  when  the  failure  to  secure  the  necessary  amount  of  cash  subscriptions 
to  the  stock  was  proved,  and  it  became  manifest  that  the  only  medium  through 
which  the  work  could  go  on  was  by  a  constructing  company,  which  would  under- 
take to  build  the  road  and  take  the  securities  and  stock  of  the  company  in  pay- 
ment, when  the  whole  enterprise  had  come  to  a  complete  halt,  and  was  set  in 
motion  by  my  individual  credit  and  means  and  that  of  my  associates,  the  enter- 
prise should  have  been  abandoned.  Were  it  possible  to  present  that  question 
to  the  same  public  sentiment,  the  same  state  of  national  opinion,  which  existed 
at  the  time  the  exigency  arose,  I  would  willingly  and  gladly  go  to  Congress  and 
the  country  on  that  issue.  But  I  am  denied  that  justice,  and  the  motives  and 
transactions  of  one  period  are  to  be  judged  by  the  prejudices  of  another,  at  an 
hour  when  the  fluctuations  of  opinion  are  extreme  and  violent  beyond  the  ex- 
perience of  former  times.  The  actual  cost  in  money  of  building  the  road  was 
about  seventy  million  of  dollars,  and  all  statements  of  a  less  cost  are  based  upon 
mere  estimates  of  engineers  who  never  saw  the  work,  and  who  utterly  fail  to 
grasp  the  conditions  under  which  it  was  prosecuted.  The  actual  profit  on  this 


Defense  of  Oakes  Ames.  121 

expenditure,  estimating  the  securities  and  stock  at  their  market  value  when  re- 
ceived in  payment,  was  less  than  ten  million  dollars,  as  can  be  demonstrably 
established  in  any  court.  It  is  in  testimony  before  a  committee  of  the  House, 
by  witnesses  who  have  spent  their  lives  as  contractors,  as  well  as  those  who 
have  been  builders,  owners,  and  operators  of  some  of  the  great  trunk  lines  of 
the  country,  that  for  twenty  years  past  the  ordinary  method  of  building  rail- 
roads has  been  through  the  medium  of  constructing  companies  ;  that  few,  if 
any,  roads  involving  a  large  outlay  of  capital  are  built  in  any  other  way ;  that 
a  profit  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  per  cent,  is  not  unreasonable  in  any  case ;  and 
that  upon  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  estimating  it  with 
reference  to  the  magnitude  of  the  work  and  the  risk  incurred,  no  man  could 
reasonably  object  to  a  profit  of  fifty  per  cent.  The  like  evidence  is  given  by 
a  government  director  long  intimately  acquainted  with  the  manifold  difficulties 
and  embarrassments  encountered,  and  who  has  not  yet  outlived  the  recollection 
and  realization  of  them. 

So  far  as  I  am  pecuniarily  concerned,  it  would  have  been  better  that  I  had 
never  heard  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  At  its  completion,  the  company 
found  itself  in  debt  about  six  million  of  dollars,  the  burden  of  which  fell  upon 
individuals,  myself  among  others.  The  assumption  of  the  large  portion  of 
this  liability  allotted  to  me,  followed  by  others  necessary  to  keep  the  road  in 
operation  until  there  should  be  developed  in  the  inhospitable  region  through 
which  it  runs  a  business  affording  revenue  sufficient  to  meet  running  expenses 
and  interest,  finally  culminated  in  events  familiar  to  the  public,  whereby 
losses  were  incurred  greatly  in  excess  of  all  profit  derived  by  me  from  the 
construction  of  the  road.^. 

What,  then,  has  the  government  received  as  the  fruits  of  the  connection  of 
the  Credit  Mobilier  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  and  the  trans- 
actions now  under  consideration  ?  By  the  terms  of  its  charter,  it  agreed, 
among  other  things,  to  loan  the  company  for  thirty  years  its  bonds  to  certain 
amounts  per  mile,  and  until  their  maturity  one  half  the  earnings  on  account 
of  government  transportation  should  be  retained,  to  be  applied  in  repayment 
to  the  government  of  whatever  interest  might  in  the  mean  time  be  paid  on 
the  bonds  by  the  United  States.  The  company,  in  turn,  by  acceptance  of  the 
charter,  agreed  to  pay  the  United  States  the  amount  due  on  the  bonds  at  their 
maturity,  and  to  perform  certain  services.  Without  asking  additional  legisla- 
tion, or  being  called  upon  to  resist  obnoxious  legislation,  except  wherein  this 


122  Defense  of  Odkes  Ames. 

contract  had  been  disregarded  and  ignored  by  the  government,  the  road  has 
been  completed  and  successfully  operated  throughout  its  entire  line  now  nearly 
four  years. 

No  complaint  has  ever  come  up  from  any  quarter  of  any  failure  to  faith- 
fully perform  its  obligations  to  the  government,  both  in  respect  to  transporta- 
tion services  and  its  pecuniary  obligations.  In  the  only  instance  in  which  it 
has  differed  from  any  department  of  the  government,  the  variance  has  been 
upon  a  purely  judicial  question,  upon  which  the  courts  have  been  opened  to 
the  United  States,  but  closed  to  us.  The  government  made  itself  the  cred- 
itor of  the  Union  Pacific  Company,  tying  its  debtor  hand  and  foot  with  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  stipulations,  and  then  refused  to  submit  their  interpretation  to  its 
own  courts.  That  it  has  so  far  reaped  the  principal  benefit  of  the  bargain 
cannot  be  denied.  Official  statements  of  the  Postmaster-General  are  before 
the  House,  which  show  that  for  the  six  years  ending  June  30,  1872,  the  sav- 
ing to  the  government  upon  the  transportation  of  postal  matter  alone,  by  rea- 
son of  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  assuming  the  amount 
carried  to  be  equal  to  that  transported  previous  to  its  construction,  has  been 
$643,579.55.  But  the  amount  of  postal  matter  has  been  over  six  times 
greater  by  rail  than  by  stage,  so  that  the  real  saving  is  not  less  than  $3,861,- 
477.30.  Even  this  result  fails  to  represent  the  increased  speed  of  carriage 
and  convenience  of  handling  and  distribution  afforded  by  postal  cars  to  the 
employees  of  the  department  accompanying  the  mails,  thus  insuring  safety 
and  regularity  in  delivery.  A  like  statement  from  the  War  Department 
shows  the  saving  upon  military  transportation  for  the  same  time  to  have  been 
$6,507,282.85.  No  official  estimates  are  before  the  House  for  the  saving 
upon  transportation  of  Indian  goods,  for  the  Navy  Department,  or  of  coin  or 
currency,  but  they  may  be  safely  aggregated  at  not  less  than  $2,500,000. 
This  gives  a  total  saving  for  the  six  years  ending  June  30,  1872,  of  the  sum 
of  $12,868,760.15.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  a  communication  to 
the  House,  bearing  date  May  20,  1872,  in  answer  to  a  resolution  calling  for 
such  information,  estimates  the  amount  of  interest  and  principal  which  will  be 
due  from  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  at  the  maturity  of  the  govern- 
ment bonds,  at  the  present  rate  of  payment,  at  $58,156,746.98.  Assuming 
that  the  saving  to  the  government  of  all  the  different  classes  of  transporta- 
tion in  the  future  will  be  the  same  as  in  the  past  (a  supposition  entirely  on 
the  side  of  the  United  States,  for  it  will,  in  fact,  increase  in  almost  geomet- 


Defense  of  Oakes  Ames.  123 

rical  progression),  the  result  is  a  total  saving,  at  the  date  of  the  maturity  of 
the  bonds,  of  $64,343,880.75,  —  a  sum  in  excess  of  the  principal  and  interest 
due  at  that  time  to  the  amount  of  $6,187,053.77.  In  other  words,  if  at  the 
maturity  of  the  bonds  not  one  cent  of  interest  or  principal  was  paid,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  entirely  lost,  the  government  would  be  the  gainer  in 
money  to  the  amount  of  $6,187,053.77. 

All  this  is  solid  gain,  involving  no  consequential  element,  and  susceptible 
of  exact  computation.  <^"To  attempt  to  grasp  the  national  benefits  which  lie 
outside  the  domain  of  figures,  but  are  embodied  in  the  increased  prosperity, 
wealth,  population,  and  power  of  the  nation,  overtasks  the  most  vivid  imagina- 
tion. When  the  rails  were  joined  on  Promontory  Summit,  May  10, 1869,  the 
Pacific  and  the  Atlantic,  Europe  and  Asia,  the  East  and  the  West,  pledged 
themselves  to  that  perpetual  amity  out  of  which  should  spring  an  interchange 
of  the  most  precious  and  costly  commodities  known  to  traffic,  thus  assuring  a 
commerce  whose  tide  should  ebb  to  and  fro  across  the  continent  by  this  route 
for  ages  to  come.  Utah  was  then  an  isolated  community,  with  no  industry 
but  agriculture  and  those  manufactures  necessary  to  a  poor  and  frugal  people. 
In  1872  it  shipped  ten  million  of  silver  to  the  money  centres  of  the  world,  and 
is  now  demonstrated  to  be  the  richest  mineral  storehouse  on  the  continent. 
An  institution  repugnant  to  the  moral  sense  of  the  Christian  world  is  fast 
yielding  to  the  civilizing  contact  of  the  outer  travel  made  possible  by  the  con- 
struction of  the  railway.  Many  believe  that  it  has  already  substantially  solved 
the  perplexing  problem  of  polygamy.  A  vast  foreign  emigration,  bringing 
with  it  from  Europe  an  immense  aggregate  sum  of  money,  has  already  been 
distributed  far  out  on  the  line  of  the  road,  and  its  means  and  muscle  are  fast 
subjecting  the  lately  sparsely  peopled  Territories  of  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Mon- 
tana, and  Idaho  to  the  uses  of  an  enterprising  and  rapidly  increasing  popula- 
tion. A  steady  and  copious  flow  of  British  capital  is  pouring  into  the  mines 
of  Colorado  and  Utah.  The  Indians  have  been  pacified  ;  fruitless  and  costly 
hostile  military  expeditions,  frequent  elsewhere,  have  ceased  in  the  vicinity  of 
its  line  ;  and  the  facility  and  speed  of  communication  afforded  by  the  railroad 
enable  the  government  to  offer  adequate  protection  to  the  frontier  with  a 
handful  of  troops,  and,  at  the  same  time,  dispense  with  large  garrisons  and 
fortified  posts,  hitherto  maintained  at  fabulous  cost.  The  countless  herds  of 
Texas  are  moving  up  to.  occupy  the  grazing  grounds  of  the  buffalo,  in  the  val- 
leys and  canons  shadowed  by  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  region  of  boundless 


124  Defense  of  Oakes  Ames. 

natural  resources,  lately  unknown,  unexplored,  and  uninhabited,  dominated 
by  savages,  has  been  reclaimed,  hundreds  of  millions  added  to  the  wealth  of 
the  nation,  and  'the  bonds  of  fraternal  and  commercial  union  between  the  East 
and  West  strengthened  beyond  the  power  of  civil  discord  to  sever. 

Does  any  one,  yearning  with  solicitude  lest  the  United  States,  which  has 
made  this  fortunate  bargain,  should  fail  to  receive  each  cent  due  at  the  precise 
moment  it  may  be  demanded  by  its  officers,  doubt  the  ability  of  the  company  to 
perform  its  obligations  and  pay  the  last  dollar  due,  long  before  the  maturity  of 
the  bonds  ?  Four  years  ago  the  road  was  opened,  without  local  business,  with 
no  considerable  through-traffic,  and  in  the  dawn  of  the  friendly  relations  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  those  Asiatic  nations  which  now  bid  fair  to  prove 
the  source  of  its  largest  and  most  lucrative  business.  The  conservative  capi- 
talists of  the  country  believed  it  would  bankrupt  any  organization  which  un- 
dertook to  operate  it.  Four  years  have  reversed  that  opinion,  and  now  the 
same  men  are  putting  forth  their  best  efforts  to  secure  the  benefit  of  a  close 
traffic  connection,  and  perhaps  ultimate  ownership.  Twenty-four  years  ago 
there  was  scarcely  a  mile  of  railroad  west  of  Lake  Erie,  and  no  connecting 
line  west  of  Buffalo.  Let  him  who  would  rightly  estimate  the  future  of  this 
company  go  back  to  the  year  1848,  and,  thenceforward  to  the  present  time, 
trace  the  growth  and  development  of  that  portion  of  the  United  States  lying 
west  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  he  will  be  able  to  approximate  the  coming  history 
of  the  region  through  which  this  road  stretches  for  a  thousand  miles,  and  of 
the  trade  and  products  and  commodities  of  which  it  is  to  be  the  great  commer- 
cial artery.  There  is  but  one  power  that  can  destroy  its  ability  to  perform  all 
its  obligations  to  the  government ;  there  is  but  one  agency  that  can  render  'it 
incapable  of  paying  all  its  indebtedness  to  the  last  dollar,  —  namely,  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States.  It  alone  can  so  cripple,  weaken,  or  destroy  the 
company  as  to  make  the  loan  of  the  government  to  it  a  total  loss. 

These,  then,  are  my  offenses  :  that  I  have  risked  reputation,  fortune,  every- 
thing, in  an  enterprise  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  government,  from  which 
the  capital  of  the  world  shrank ;  that  I  have  sought  to  strengthen  the  work 
thus  rashly  undertaken  by  invoking  the  charitable  judgment  of  the  public 
upon  its  obstacles  and  embarrassments  ;  that  I  have  had  friends,  some  of  them 
in  official  life,  with  whom  I  have  been  willing  to  share  advantageous  opportu- 
nities of  investments ;  that  I  have  kept  to  the  truth,  through  good  and  evil 
report,  denying  nothing,  concealing  nothing,  reserving  nothing.  Who  will  say 


Defense  of  Oakes  Ames.  125 

that  I  alone  am  to  be  offered  up  a  sacrifice  to  appease  a  public  clamor,  or  ex- 
piate the  sins  of  others  ?  Not  until  such  an  offering  is  made  will  I  believe  it 
possible.  But  if  this  body  shall  so  order  that  it  can  best  be  purified  by  the 
choice  of  a  single  victim,  I  shall  accept  its  mandate,  appealing,  with  unfalter- 
ing confidence,  to  the  impartial  verdict  of  history  for  that  vindication  which 
it  is  proposed  to  deny  me  here. 


OAKES  AMES  AND  THE  CREDIT  MOBILISE. 


To  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE,  IRRESPECTIVE  OF  PARTY: 

WE,  the  undersigned,  sons  of  Oakes  Ames,  desire  to  be  heard,  in  justice  to 
the  memory  of  our  father,  who  cah  no  longer  speak  for  himself. 

The  revival  of  interest  in  the  political  scandal  known  as  the  "  Credit  Mo- 
bilier,"  growing  out  of  an  alleged  complicity  therein  by  the  Republican  candi- 
date for  the  Presidency,  makes  the  present  a  fitting  time  for  a  true  statement 
of  that  extraordinary  affair.  When  even  GENERAL  GARFIELD,  in  what  pur- 
ports to  be  an  extract  from  his  forthcoming  biography,  has  totally  failed  to 
comprehend  the  facts,  how  can  the  public  at  large  be  expected  to  understand 
them  ?  Such  a  statement  is  due  alike  to  a  public  benefactor  whose  last  days 
were  clouded  with  obloquy,  to  the  great  enterprise  with  which  he  was  identi- 
fied, to  the  good  name  of  both  political  parties,  some  of  whose  trusted  leaders 
have  been  assailed,  and  to  the  honor  of  the  nation,  which  has  been  compro- 
mised by  the  opprobrium  cast  upon  its  representatives.  It  is  in  the  interest, 
not  of  any  individual  or  of  any  party,  but  of  truth  and  equity  and  common 
sense,  that  we  appeal  to  the  people  and  the  press  of  the  United  States  for  a 
reconsideration. 

Oakes  Ames  closed  his  own  defense  before  Congress,  in  1873,  with  the  fol- 
lowing memorable  words  :  "  These,  then,  are  my  offenses :  that  I  have  risked 
fortune,  everything,  in  an  enterprise  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  Govern- 
ment, from  which  the  capital  of  the  world  shrank;  that  I  have  sought  to 
strengthen  the  work  thus  rashly  undertaken  by  invoking  the  charitable  judg- 
ment of  the  public  on  its  obstacles  and  embarrassments;  that  I  have  had 
friends,  some  of  them  in  official  life,  with  whom  I  have  been  willing  to  share 
advantageous  opportunities  of  investment;  that  I  have  kept  to  the  truth 
through  good  and  evil  report,  denying  nothing,  concealing  nothing,  reserving 


128  Oakes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Mobilier. 

nothing.  Who  will  say  that  I  alone  am  to  be  offered  up  a  sacrifice  to  appease 
a  public  clamor,  or  to  expiate  the  sins  of  others  ?  Not  until  such  an  offering 
is  made  will  I  believe  it  possible.  But,  if  this  body  shall  so  order  that  it  can 
best  be  purified  by  the  choice  of  a  single  victim,  I  shall  accept  its  mandate, 
appealing  with  unfaltering  confidence  to  the  impartial  verdict  of  history  for 
that  vindication  which  it  is  proposed  to  deny  me  here." 

In  December,  1872,  it  was  charged  that  Oakes  Ames,  five  years  before,  in 
1867,  sold  $25,000  of  Credit  Mobilier  construction  stock, 'at  less  than  its  real 
value,  to  a  number  of  his  fellow-congressmen,  with  an  intent  of  bribery.  It 
was  also  asserted,  "  that  behind  this  offer  to  sell  stock  lay  hidden  a  scheme  to 
defraud  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and  imperil  the  interests  of  the  United 
States;  "  "that  a  ring  of  seven  persons  inside  the  Credit  Mobilier  Company, 
calling  themselves  trustees,  made  a  contract  with  themselves,  by  which  they 
received  for  building  the  road  an  extravagant  sum,  greatly  beyond  the  real  cost 
of  construction,  and  that  in  adjusting  the  payments  they  received  stock  and 
bonds  of  the  railroad  company  at  a  heavy  discount,  and  by  these  means  virtu- 
ally robbed  and  plundered  the  road;  and  that  this  arrangement  was  kept  a 
close  secret  by  its  managers." 

These  charges  are  each  and  all  entirely  untrue,  as  we  will  show. 

DECISION    OF   THE   SUPREME    COURT. 

So  far  as  the  Government  and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  are 
concerned,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  decided  that  no  wrong 
was  done.  In  1873,  Congress,  by  a  special  statute,  instructed  the  attorney- 
general  to  institute  a  suit  in  equity  for  the  recovery  of  all  property  wrongfully 
appropriated.  "  The  statute  in  this  case  authorized  a  moneyed  decree  in  favor 
of  the  railroad  company,  for  money  due  for  capital  stock  or  money  or  prop- 
erty which  ought  in  equity  to  belong  to  the  company ;  and  it  authorized  a  de- 
cree" in  favor  of  the  United  States,  on  the  company,  for  money,  bonds  or  lands 
wrongfully  received  from  the  United  States,  which  ought  in  equity  to  be  paid 
or  accounted  for."  The  Supreme  Court,  in  1879,  has  affirmed  a  decision  pre- 
viously rendered  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Connecticut,  and  has 
decided  that  "  this  bill  exhibits  no  right  to  relief  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  founded  on  the  charter  contract.  The  company  has  constructed  its 
road  to  completion,  keeps  it  in  running  order,  and  carries  for  the  Government 
all  that  is  required  of  it.  It  owes  the  Government  nothing  that  is  due,  and 


Oakes  Ames  and  the   Credit  Mobilier.  129 

the  Government  has  the  security  which  by  law  it  provided.  Nor  does  the  bill 
show  anything  which  authorized  the  United  States,  as  the  depositary  of  a 
trust,  public  or  private,  to  sustain  this  suit."  The  court  adds  :  "  The  truth  is, 
that  the  persons  who  were  actually  defrauded  by  these  transactions,  if  any 
such  there  may  be,  were  the  few  bonafide  holders  of  the  stock  of  the  corpora- 
tion, who  took  no  part  in  these  proceedings,  and  had  no  interest  in  the  fraudu- 
lent contracts.  But  it  is  not  alleged  that  there  were  such." 

So  far  as  the  charges  against  Oakes  Ames  are  concerned,  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  sales  of  stock  were  made  to  congressmen  by  him  preclude 
the  possibility  of  a  corrupt  intent  by  either  party ;  for  they  were  made  :  1.  As 
a  sale,  and  not  as  a  gift.  2.  At  the  same  price  (par  and  accrued  interest) 
which  it  cost  himself  and  all  the  original  holders.  3.  At  a  time  when  no 
legislation  was  wanted,  and  with  an  express  assurance  that  none  would  be 
wanted.  4.  To  known  and  tried  friends  of  the  enterprise.  5.  To  men  whose 
reputations  were  worth  more  than  money.  6.  In  sums  so  small  as  to  offer 
no  temptation.  Any  one  of  these  six  facts  is  inconsistent  with  an  intent  of 
bribery,  but  taken  together  they  constitute  a  perfect  refutation.  If  Oakes 
Ames  bribed  any  one,  what  was  the  bribe  ?  and  for  what  was  the  bribe  of- 
fered ?  What  act  of  legislation  in  behalf  of  his  road  did  he  ever  seek  to  ob- 
tain ?  If  wrong  was  committed,  who  were  the  parties  wronged  ?  It  is  said 
that  the  Credit  Mobilier  and  Oakes  Ames'  contracts  were  frauds.  If  so,  who 
were  the  parties  defrauded  ?  Not  the  Government,  for  it  gave  only  what  it 
agreed  to  give,  and  received  all  for  which  it  stipulated  as  an  equivalent.  Not 
the  present  stockholders  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  for  they  own  the  rail- 
road, and  the  franchise  which  is  all  their  stock  ever  represented.  Not  the 
original  stockholders  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  for  they  consented  to  the 
contract,  and  shared  in  the  risk  and  profit  of  constructing  the  road.  Not  the 
public,  for  they  enjoy  all  the  benefits  of  the  great  national  highway.  The 
committee  of  Congress  which,  in  1872-73,  was  charged  to  investigate,  found 
no  member  guilty  of  accepting  a  bribe.  In  the  report,  which  recommends  the 
expulsion  of  Messrs.  Ames  and  Brooks  (a  republican  and  a  democrat),  this 
committee  say  they  "  do  not  find  "  that  any  member  was  "  aware  of  any  im- 
proper object  of  Mr.  Ames,  or  that  he  had  any  other  purpose  in  taking  this 
stock  than  to  make  a  profitable  investment ; "  that  "  in  his  negotiations  with 
these  members  of  Congress  Mr.  Ames  made  no  suggestion  that  he  desired  to 
secure  their  favorable  influence  in  Congress  in  favor  of  the  railroad  com- 


130  Oakes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Mobilier. 

pany  ;  "  that  "  the  question  was  raised"  at  the  time  "  whether  the  ownership  of 
this  stock  would  in  any  way  interfere  with  or  embarrass  them  in  their  action 
as  members  of  Congress  ;  "  and  that  Mr.  Ames  assured  them  that  it  would 
not,  because  "  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  had  received  from  Congress  all  the 
grants  and  legislation  it  wanted,  and  should  ask  for  nothing  more."  The  com- 
mittee add,  that  when  Mr.  Ames  said  so,  "  he  stated  what  he  believed  to  be 
true,"  and  that  they  "  have  not  been  able  to  find  that  any  of  these  members  of 
Congress  have  been  affected  in  their  official  action  in  consequence  of  their  in- 
terest in  Credit  Mobilier  stock." 

NOT   A    BRIBER. 

But  if  no  one  was  guilty  of  accepting  a  bribe,  or  was  aware  that  one  was 
offered,  how  could  Oakes  Ames  be  the  briber  ?  If  no  one  has  been  wronged, 
who  is  the  criminal  ?  When  was  it  ever  before  alleged  that  a  briber  made 
men  pay  thousands  of  dollars  for  the  privilege  of  being  bribed?  that  he 
charged  them  principal  and  interest  on  the  bribe  ?  that  he  represented  the 
bribe  to  them  as  "  an  investment  likely  to  pay  over  ten  per  cent "  ?  that  he 
bribed  them  without  their  own  knowledge  or  consent  ?  that  he  bribed  them  to 
do  nothing,  and  with  the  express  assurance  that  there  would  be  nothing  to  do  ? 
Yet  such  is  the  report  of  the  committee,  which  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
nobody  was  bribed  after  all,  but  that  Oakes  Ames  was  guilty  of  the  bribery 
all  the  same ! 

It  is  easy  to  say,  in  the  light  of  an  achieved  success,  that  the  profits  of  the 
construction  company  were  too  great.  The  net  profits  were,  in  fact,  about 
fifteen  per  cent  on  the  money  expended.  No  one  knew,  or  could  have  known 
in  advance,  what  the  cost  of  the  road  would  be.  But  it  is  sufficient  to  say, 
in  reply,  that  the  leading  capitalists  of  the  country  refused  to  do  the  work  on 
the  same  terms.  When  a  great  risk  is  assumed,  unusual  profits,  in  case  of 
success,  are  its  fair  equivalent. 

The  propriety  of  building  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  by  a  construction 
company  composed  of  the  stockholders  of  the  road,  has  been  questioned.  Yet 
all  the  great  railroads  of  the  country,  from  that  day  to  this,  have  been  and  are 
now  being  built  by  construction  companies  composed  of  the  stockholders  of 
these  roads,  and  organized  upon  precisely  the  same  basis  as  was  the  Credit 
Mobilier.  In  nearly  every  instance,  these  companies  have  realized  a  larger 


Oakes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Mobilier.  131 

percentage  of  profit  on  the  money  expended  than  was  received  by  the  stock- 
holders of  the  Credit  Mobilier. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  Government  has  spent  since  that  day,  in  develop- 
ing the  country  west  of  the  Missouri  River,  vast  sums  of  money,  and  notwith- 
standing the  efforts  of  three  great  companies,  backed  by  immense  land  grants, 
to  build  additional  roads  across  the  Continent,  these  efforts  have  hitherto  failed. 
Up  to  this  time  there  is  no  other  completed  line.  But  the  Government  has 
already  saved,  in  'the  reduced  cost  of  Indian  wars  and  of  transportation  by 
the  use  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  more  than  the  whole  amount  of  its 
loan. 

MR.  AMES'    MEMORANDA. 

In  considering  the  conflict  between  the  statements  of  Mr.  Ames,  derived 
from  his  memoranda  made  at  the  time,  and  those  of  some  of  the  congressmen 
implicated,  made  five  years  afterward,  from  memory,  great  allowance  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  these  agreements  were  verbal,  and,  in  some  instances,  condi- 
tional upon  future  payment.  They  were  never  reduced  to  writing,  and  possi- 
bly, in  some  cases,  were  regarded  as  options  rather  than  as  investments.  The 
pocket  diary  in  which  the  brief  memoranda  were  made  was  probably  the  only 
record  of  these  transactions.  Some  of  the  agreements  had  afterward  been 

o 

cancelled,  and  it  is  even  possible  that  the  facts  had  been  forgotten  by  some 
of  the  parties  when  the  list  containing  their  names  was  unexpectedly  made 
public. 

In  order  to  fully  understand  the  case,  it  must  be  remembered  that,  twenty 
years  ago,  the  idea  of  building  a  railroad  across  the  Continent,  over  the  unin- 
habited and  rainless  plains  which  stretched  for  a  thousand  miles  west  of  the 
Missouri  River,  and  through  the  passes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  Sierra 
Nevada  Ranges  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was  generally  regarded  as  a  chimera. 
Yet  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War,  in  1861,  suddenly  made  such  a  road  a 
national  necessity.  A  considerable  population  had  been  attracted  to  California 
by  the  discovery  of  gold,  and  seemed  likely  to  declare  itself  independent  of 
the  Federal  authority.  To  build  this  road  through  a  wilderness  occupied  only 
by  roving  buffaloes  and  hostile  Indians,  government  aid  was  indispensable. 

To  induce  capitalists  to  undertake  this  gigantic  work,  Congress,  in  July, 
1862,  passed  an  act  to  incorporate  a  company  with  a  liberal  grant  of  lands, 
and  a  loan  of  government  bonds  payable  in  currency,  which  were  to  be  a  first 


132  Oakes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Mobilier. 

lien  upon  the  road  when  completed.  But  two  years  elapsed,  and  no  responsi- 
ble parties  ventured  upon  the  novel  and  hazardous  undertaking.  Congress 
found  it  necessary  to  increase  the  inducement,  and,  in  July,  1864,  it  doubled 
the  land  grant,  and  authorized  the  incorporators  to  issue  an  equal  amount  of 
first  mortgage  bonds  having  precedence  over  the  others,  thus  making  the 
bonds  of  the  Government  a  second  mortgage  upon  the  road  and  its  franchises. 
This  led  to  practical  action.  From  the  first,  operations  were  made  more  diffi- 
cult by  a  provision  in  the  charter  which  prohibited  the  sale  of  stock  at  less 
than  its  face  value,  while  it  offered  the  stock  to  public  subscription,  fixing  the 
amount  at  $100,000,000.  To  control  the  management,  an  investment  in  the 
stock  of  $51,000,000  would  have  been  needed,  and  that  was  impossible.  No 
capitalists  would  invest  in  a  stock  subject  to  such  risks  and  uncertainties,  at 
par. 

To  overcome  these  difficulties,  and  to  obtain  outside  capital,  as  in  many 
cases  before  and  since,  a  certain  amount  of  stock  was  taken,  to  control  the 
franchise,  and  a  construction  company  was  formed,  in  1864,  by  these  original 
stockholders  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  who  were  all  at  liberty  to  sub- 
scribe in  proportion  to  their  interest  in  the  road.  All  did  so,  or  disposed  of 
their  stock  to  others.  This  construction  company,  in  order  to  limit  the  liabil- 
ities of  its  subscribers  to  its  paid-up  capital  of  $2,500,000,  —  afterwards  in- 
creased to  $3,750,000,  —  bought  a  charter  already  created  by  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Legislature  for  a  different  purpose,  and  changed  its  name  from  the  "  Penn- 
sylvania Fiscal  Agency  "  to  the  "  Credit  Mobilier  of  America."  But,  when 
the  Credit  Mobilier  Company,  after  building  two  hundred  and  forty-seven 
miles  of  road,  approached  the  rainless  region,  where  the  land  grant  was  of  lit- 
tle immediate  value,  it  became  embarrassed,  and  there  was  danger  that  the 
road  would  have  to  be  abandoned.  In  this  emergency  Oakes  Ames  was  ap- 
pealed to  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  not  only  as  a  capitalist,  but 
as  a  patriot. 

RELATIONS    OF   THE   ADMINISTRATION   TO    THE   ROAD. 

It  was  not  until  August,  1865,  fourteen  months  after  the  last  act  of  legisla- 
tion in  behalf  of  the  road,  that  Oakes  Ames  and  his  brother  Oliver  became  in- 
terested in  the  railroad  company,  and  also  in  the  Credit  Mobilier  construction 
company.  They  had  been  urgently  solicited  to  engage  in  the  work  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  who  assured  them  that  he  regarded  the  speedy  completion  of 


Oakes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Molilier.  133 

the  road  as  so  necessary  that  he  would  recommend  an  increase  of  government 
aid,  if  the  work  could  not  otherwise  be  accomplished.  The  circumstances 
were  all  unfavorable.  The  Civil  War  was  at  its  height ;  gold  was  150  ;  there 
was  no  market  for  the  first  mortgage  bonds  ;  even  the  government  bonds  pay- 
able in  currency  were  depreciated,  and  difficult  of  sale ;  no  Eastern  railroad 
connections  existed,  and  the  vast  amount  of  material — iron,  ties,  cars,  lum- 
ber, provisions,  etc.  —  had  to  be  transported  from  five  hundred  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred miles  by  the  costly  and  tedious  route  of  the  Missouri  River.  To  build 
more  than  one  thousand  miles  of  road,  under  such  circumstances,  through  an 
unexplored  desert  destitute  of  water,  and  over  three  mountain  ranges  swarm- 
ing with  savages,  by  whom  the  engineers  and  conductors  of  the  construction 
trains  were  repeatedly  scalped  and  massacred  at  their  work,  "  might  well  be 
regarded,"  as  Mr.  Ames  afterward  said,  "  as  the  work  of  a  madman,  if  it  did 
not  challenge  the  recognition  of  a  higher  motive."  But  Oakes  Ames  was  no 
ordinary  man.  The  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of  Oliver  Ames  &  Sons,  he 
stood  in  the  front  rank  of  New  England  manufacturers,  and  was  justly  re- 
spected for  experience,  solvency  and  integrity.  He  was  asked  to  associate 
his  name,  if  successful,  with  a  great  public  enterprise.  But  he  was  also  asked 
to  take  an  immense  risk  and  responsibility  —  to  put  his  own  ample  fortune 
and  those  of  his  friends  in  jeopardy.  In  an  evil  hour  for  his  own  peace  he 
undertook  the  herculean  task.  Against  the  advice  of  many  financial  associ- 
ates, he  accepted  the  trust,  shouldered  the  load,  and  carried  it  through  to  suc- 
cess. 

In  August,  1867,  Oakes  Ames  signed  a  contract  to  build  six  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  miles  of  road  for  a  specified  sum  per  mile,  payable  ostensibly  in 
cash,  but  actually  in  bonds  and  in  stock  of  the  road  at  par.  These  securities 
were  of  uncertain  value,  but  they  were  all  that  the  road  had  to  give.  If  he 
could  succeed  in  finding  or  making  a  market  for  these  securities,  there  was  a 
considerable  probable  profit ;  if  he  failed  to  market  them,  ruinous  losses  would 
ensue.  The  profits  were  nominal  and  contingent,  the  risk  was  real  and  enor- 
mous. 

Mr.  Ames  made  this  contract  upon  the  express  condition  that  all  the  stock- 
holders of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  should  give  their  consent  to  it ;  and. 
this  consent  was  given.  Two  months  later  he  assigned  this  contract  of  $47,- 
000,000,  for  which  he  was  personally  responsible,  to  seven  trustees,  represent- 


134  Odkes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Mobilier. 

ing  all  the  stockholders  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  Construction  Company  who 
would  consent  to  share  the  responsibility  with  him. 

Up  to  this  time  (October,  1867)  the  construction  stock  had  been  sold  with 
great  difficulty,  and  at  a  heavy  discount,  and  much  of  it  was  unavoidably 
taken  by  Mr.  Ames  and  his  friends.  At,  and  subsequent  to,  the  date  of  his 
agreements  to  sell  to  congressmen  at  par  and  accrued  interest,  he  offered  the 
same  stock  at  ninety-five  to  influential  Boston  capitalists  whom  he  wished  to 
secure,  and  they  declined  to  invest.  In  some  cases  he  had  to  guarantee  capi- 
talists against  loss  before  they  would  take  the  stock.  After  the  value  of  the 
stock  advanced,  he  was  literally  besieged  by  such  applicants.  But  in  these 
cases  he  declined  to  sell.  His  sole  object  was  to  fulfill  previous  understand- 
ings, made  before  the  advance  took  place.  But  while  Mr.  Ames  made  persist- 
ent and  successful  effort  to  sell  the  construction  stock  to  capitalists,  even  at  a 
sacrifice,  he  did  not  make  any  special  effort  to  enlist  congressional  holders  of 
stock.  The  very  few  congressmen  who  were  not  also  eminent  capitalists  to 
whom  he  promised  a  small  number  of  shares  ($16,000  in  all)  were  his  per- 
sonal friends,  who  had  always  been  friends  of  the  road.  In  most  cases,  if  not 
all,  they  applied  to  him  for  a  profitable  investment,  as  members  had  for  years 
been  in  the  habit  of  doing.  He  agreed  to  let  them  have  the  stock  as  an  act 
of  friendly  good-will,  because  he  believed  it  would  prove  a  profitable  invest- 
ment, and  they  agreed  to  take  it  because  they  had  confidence  in  his  judgment. 
Then  and  afterward  it  had  no  settled  market  price,  and  its  value  depended 
very  much  on  the  temperature  of  the  buyer  and  on  the  fluctuating  value  of 
the  securities  for  and  by  which  the  road  was  built. 

PLACING   THE    STOCK. 

Of  course,  every  effort  was  made  to  place  the  stock  in  the  hands  of  men  of 
established  position.  The  motive  was  plainly  stated  by  Mr.  Ames :  "  I  have 
observed,"  he  said,  "  that  men  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  acquaint  themselves 
thoroughly  with  affairs  in  which  they  have  no  personal  interest."  But  Mr. 
Ames,  who  was  a  large-hearted  and  liberal  man,  doubtless  felt,  also,  a  sincere 
pleasure  in  securing  among  his  associates  men  who  had  shown  themselves 
from  the  first  in  sympathy  with  his  great  work.  It  was  this  willingness  to 
secure  stockholders  among  influential  men,  some  of  them  members  of  Con- 
gress, which  was  the  sole  basis  of  the  subsequent  scandal.  Oakes  Ames,  from 
the  tune  when  he  first  entered  Congress,  in  1863,  with  the  reputation  of  being 


Oakes  Ames  and  the   Credit  Mobilier.  135 

a  successful  business  man,  was  often  consulted  by  his  fellow-members  in  regard 
to  their  investments.  Acting  as  agent  of  the  construction  company,  in  the 
fall  of  1867,  he  acceded  to  requests  previously  made  by  a  number  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  to  invest  small  sums  in  construction  stock  which  had  been 
placed  in  his  hands  for  sale,  to  fulfill  these  understandings,  at  par  and  accrued 
interest.  He  agreed,  in  some  cases,  to  carry  it  for  them.  In  all  cases  it  was 
to  be  a  sale,  not  a  gift,  and  he  was  to  receive  principal  and  interest  for  it. 

At  this  time  (1867),  no  further  legislation  was  wanted.  The  relations  of 
the  road  to  the  Government  had  been  legally  defined  and  settled  three  years 
before.  No  additional  franchises  were  asked,  or  expected.  The  temper  of 
the  public  was  friendly.  It  was  a  stock  in  which  all  men  had  a  right  to  invest. 
Neither  Mr.  Ames,  nor  the  men  who  agreed  to  buy,  nor  the  men  who  declined 
to  buy,  nor  any  one  else,  in  or  out  of  Congress,  imagined  for  a  moment  that 
anything  was  wrong  in  the  transaction,  any  more  than  in  the  purchase  of  or- 
dinary railway  shares,  or  of  mining  stock,  or  of  national  bank  stock,  or  of 
merchandise,  or  of  produce,  or  of  gold  —  and  all  of  which  might  some  day 
become  the  subjects  of  legislation,  and  be  affected  in  value  thereby. 

At  the  time  when  Mr.  Ames  agreed  to  sell  this  construction  stock,  its  value 
was  largely  speculative,  and  it  could  not  have  been  readily  sold  even  at  par. 
But  a  few  months  later,  when  the  crisis  was  passed,  and  the  successful  comple- 
tion of  the  road  assured  by  the  powerful  intervention  of  Mr.  Ames  and  his 
friends  in  its  affairs,  it  became  evident  that  large  dividends  would  be  realized, 
and  the  value  of  the  stock  appreciated.  Unfortunately,  a  controversy  then 
took  place  between  Colonel  McComb,  a  Delaware  shareholder,  and  Mr. 
Ames,  as  to  a  number  of  additional  shares  which  this  stockholder  claimed. 
To  satisfy  McComb  that  this  stock  was  all  disposed  of  "  where  it  would  do 
most  good "  to  the  enterprise,  Mr.  Ames  mentioned  to  this  gentleman  the 
names  of  persons  to  whom  he  felt  under  obligation  to  assign  shares  upon  sup- 
posed understandings  previously  made.  These  names  included  a  number  of 
influential  congressmen.  In  a  suit  instituted  the  following  year  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania courts  for  the  recovery  of  the  stock,  McComb  furnished  an  incorrect 
list  of  these  names,  and,  under  the  impulse  of  personal  feeling  and  self-interest, 
gave  a  false  color  to  the  transaction.  When  this  litigation  became  known, 
most  of  the  congressmen  to  whom  Mr.  Ames  had  agreed  to  sell  shares  became 
alarmed.  Some  returned  their  stock,  and  got  back  their  money  with  interest; 


136  Odkes  Ames  and  the  Credit  Mobilier. 

some  declined  it ;  and  some  afterward  denied  that  they  had  ever  agreed  to 
take  it. 

COMPLETION    OF    THE    ROAD. 

In  May,  1869,  the  road  was  completed.  The  proceeds  were  equitably  al- 
lotted by  the  trustees,  as  the  work  progressed,  to  all  the  parties  in  interest, 
according  to  agreement.  Nearly  four  years  elapsed.  In  the  fall  of  1872 
the  fever  of  inflated  government  expenditures  began  to  abate,  and  a  healthy 
political  reaction  set  in  against  the  extravagance  which  had  grown  up  during 
the  war.  Some  congressmen,  possibly,  had  been  implicated  in  other  transac- 
tions which  would  not  bear  daylight,  and  were  living  in  dread  of  exposure. 
The  press  of  the  country  began  a  most  useful  and  necessary  crusade  against 
abuses,  real  and  imaginary.  Vague  and  exaggerated  reports  of  the  profits  of 
Credit  Mobilier  stock  were  afloat.  The  records  of  the  Pennsylvania  court 
were  published,  giving  the  names  of  leading  politicians  as  though  they  had 
been  beneficiaries  of  the  railroad.  This  created  a  great  sensation.  Detrac- 
tion, like  death,  loves  a  shining  mark.  Some  congressmen,  whose  names  were 
not  on  the  list,  were  quite  willing  to  connect  the  names  of  their  rivals  with  an 
imputation  of  jobbery.  The  party  out  of  power  was  naturally  willing  to 
make  political  capital  at  the  expense  of  the  party  in  power.  The  party  in 
power  was  inconveniently  large,  and  its  leaders  were  inconveniently  numerous, 
and  often  in  each  other's  way. 

Many  members  felt  keenly  the  need  of  reform  in  the  methods  of  legislation, 
and  were  prepared  to  assume  a  censorious  attitude.  About  the  same  time 
grave  official  scandals  were  divulged  in  other  quarters,  and  more  were  sus- 
pected. A  popular  cry  was  raised  against  "  Credit  Mobilier  frauds,"  and  a 
reign  of  terror  ensued.  Congressmen  whose  record  was  vulnerable  were 
swift  to  direct  attention  elsewhere.  A  politician,  like  a  woman,  must  be 
above  suspicion.  He  lives  upon  public  opinion.  No  .matter  how  long  and 
pure  may  have  been  his  honorable  record,  his  career  may  be  blasted  by  the 
breath  of  slander.  It  seemed  as  though  the  day  of  judgment  had  come.  A 
political  Bull  Run  ensued.  Under  the  influence  of  a  panic,  brave  men  became 
cowards  ;  truthful  men  prevaricated ;  honest  men  acted  like  convicted  pick- 
pockets ;  while  the  meanest  men  in  Congress  assumed  airs  of  pharisaical  supe- 
riority. 

But  there  was  one  man  in  Congress  who  would  neither  lie,  nor  prevaricate, 


Oakes  Ames  and  the   Credit  MoUlier.  137 

nor  conceal.  Oakes  Ames  —  a  man  of  few  words,  steady  and  straightfor- 
ward, upright  and  downright,  conscious  of  his  own  rectitude,  and  as  ignorant 
of  the  ways  of  wrong-doers  as  a  child —  testified  to  certain  agreements  made 
with  him  by  congressmen,  five  years  before,  to  buy  interests  in  the  construc- 
tion stock,  and  verified  them  by  reference  to  his  memorandum-book.  He  sud- 
denly found  himself  denounced  by  friend  and  foe.  "  Credit  Mobilier  "  was 
made  a  mysterious  bugbear,  and  remains  to  this  day  in  the  public  mind  a 
synonym  for  political  corruption.  In  March,  1873,  in  the  closing  hours  of 
the  session,  when  adequate  debate  was  impossible,  the  following  vote  of  con- 
demnation was  passed :  — 

Resolved,  That  the  House  absolutely  condemns  the  conduct  of  Oakes  Ames,  a 
member  of  this  House  from  Massachusetts,  in  seeking  to  procure  congressional  at- 
tention to  the  affairs  of  a  corporation  in  which  he  was  interested,  and  whose  inter- 
est directly  depended  upon  the  legislation  of  Congress,  by  inducing  members  of 
Congress  to  invest  in  the  stocks  of  said  corporation. 

THE   CONGRESSIONAL    CENSURE. 

Then  ensued  upon  the  floor  of  Congress  a  scene  without  a  parallel.  Men 
who  had  just  joined  in  the  vote  of  condemnation  against  Mr.  Ames,  gathered 
around  him  to  ask  his  pardon  for  having  done  so.  They  said  :  "  We  know 
you  are  innocent,  but  we  had  to  do  it  in  order  to  satisfy  our  constituents." 

And  thus  it  happened  that  a  man  whose  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond, 
whose  honesty  and  probity  were  proverbial,  —  a  man  by  whose  rare  executive 
ability  a  highway  was  made  across  the  Continent,  connecting  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans,  providing  a  market  for  the  products  of  the  millions  of  acres 
that  lie  between,  the  destruction  of  which  would  be  a  national  calamity,  — 
this  man  was  made  a  scapegoat  for  the  manifold  sins  of  American  political 
life,  and  his  name  was  unjustly  tarnished.  It  is  time  the  stigma  should  be  ob- 
literated, and  a  monument  erected  in  its  stead. 

Have  the  detractors  of  Oakes  Ames  ever  asked  themselves  what  motive, 
except  public  spirit,  could  have  led  a  man  so  situated  to  contract  to  build  the 
road  ?  His  own  personal  interest  in  the  construction  company,  in  December, 
1867,  was  only  one  eighth  of  the  whole.  By  signing  the  contract  he  made 
the  entire  risk  his  own.  But,  in  case  of  profit,  seven  eighths  of  the  profit 
would  belong  to  others.  Why,  except  from  public  spirit,  should  a  man  worth 
millions,  and  secure  in  the  possession  of  them,  have  risked  all  by  becoming 


138  OaJces  Ames  and  the  Credit  Molilier. 

personally  responsible,  as  he  did,  for  the  vast  sum  of  $47,000,000  ?  Why 
else  should  he  have  undertaken  to  find  a  market  for  the  securities  of  the  road, 
and  to  convert  them  into  money,  with  which  to  meet  these  immense  obliga- 
tions ?  Why  else  should  he  have  given  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  these  co- 
lossal cares  and  responsibilities  ?  For  the  prosperity  of  his  country,  he  risked 
his  own  fortune  and  that  of  his  family,  and  up  to  this  hour  his  return  has 
been,  in  too  many  quarters,  unmeasured  reproach  and  odium. 

In  appealing  for  justice  to  our  father's  memory,  we  do  not  take  the  attitude 
of  apologists.  A  righteous  indignation  against  fraud  must  not  assail  a  great 
and  good  man  whose  life  was  honorably  associated  with  the  most  useful  indus- 
trial achievement  of  his  age.  History  will  surely  record  the  Credit  Mobilier 
Construction  Company  and  the  Oakes  Ames  contract  as  legitimate  and  neces- 
sary means,  without  which  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  could  not  have  been 
built.  But  we  gladly  accept  the  present  occasion  to  vindicate  the  memory  of 
our  father,  because  the  generation  which  knows  the  facts  and  can  testify  to 
his  upright  and  blameless  life  will  soon  pass  away.  To-day  there  live  thou- 
sands of  men  in  New  England,  thousands  more  in  the  Middle  States  and  the 
great  West,  who  have  had  business  relations  with  him,  who  know  what  we 
say  is  true,  and  who  will  testify  of  their  own  knowledge  —  "  Oakes  Ames 
was  an  honest  man." 

OAKES  A.  AMES. 

OLIVER  AMES. 

FKANK  M.  AMES. 
NORTH  EASION,  Aug.  9,  1880. 


Cotnmotrtoealtlj  of 


IN  THE  YEAR  ONE  THOUSAND  EIGHT  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTY-THREE. 


RESOLUTION 

Relating  to  the  Resolutions  of  the  Forty-Second  Congress  censuring  the 

Hon.  Oakes  Ames. 

RESOLVED,  In  view  of  the  great  services  of  Oakes  Ames,  representa- 
tive from  the  Massachusetts  Second  Congressional  District  for  ten  years 
ending  March  4,  1873,  in  achieving  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  the  most  vital  contribution  to  the  integrity  and  growth 
of  the  national  Union  since  the  war  ; 

In  view  of  his  unflinching  truthfulness  and  honesty,  which  refused 
to  suppress,  in  his  own  or  any  other  interest,  any  fact,  and  so  made 
him  the  victim  of  an  intense  and  misdirected  public  excitement  and 
subjected  him  to  a  vote  of  censure  by  the  Forty-Second  Congress  at  the 
close  of  its  session  ; 

And  in  view  of  the  later  deliberate  public  sentiment,  which,  upon  a 
review  of  all  the  facts,  holds  him  in  an  esteem  irreconcilable  with  his 
condemnation,  and  which  throughout  the  whole  country  recognizes  the 
value  and  patriotism  of  his  achievement  and  his  innocence  of  corrupt 
motive  or  conduct ; 

Therefore,  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  hereby  expresses  its  grati- 
tude for  his  work  and  its  faith  in  his  integrity  of  purpose  and  character, 
and  asks  for  like  recognition  thereof  on  the  part  of  the  national  congress. 

Senate,  April  23,  1883. 
Adopted.     Sent  down  for  concurrence. 

S.  N.  aiFFORD,  Clerk. 


House  of  Representatives,  May  7, 1883. 
Adopted  in  concurrence. 

EDWARD  A.  McLAUaHLIN,  Clerk. 


The  above  resolution  was  adopted  unanimously  by  both  the  Senate 
and  the  House  of  Representatives. 


LETTER  FROM  GENERAL  BANKS 

ON   THE 

OAKES    AMES    RESOLUTION   WHEN    PENDING    IN    THE    MASSA- 
CHUSETTS LEGISLATURE. 


WALTHAM,  April  26,  1883. 

GENTLEMEN,  —  Several  weeks  since  I  promised  a  friend  that  I  would  write 
a  note,  stating  my  views  of  the  relation  of  Honorable  Oakes  Ames  to  the 
Credit  Mobilier  in  its  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and  the 
report  of  a  congressional  committee,  relating  thereto,  of  which  I  was  a  mem- 
ber. Observing  that  a  resolution  upon  that  subject  is  under  consideration  by 
the  legislature,  I  venture  to  address  this  note  to  you  as  the  immediate  repre- 
sentatives in  Senate  and  House  of  the  constituency  to  which  I  belong. 

Mr.  Ames  was  a  manufacturer,  and  the  son  of  manufacturers.  In  a  State 
where  the  House  of  Representatives  within  his  time  numbered  four  or  five 
hundred  members,  the  Senate  forty,  nine  councillors  were  chosen  to  advise  the 
Governor,  and  other  State,  county,  and  town  officers,  elected  every  year,  would 
swell  the  number  to  thousands.  Mr.  Ames,  until  near  threescore  years  of 
age,  never  held  a  public  office.  He  was  not,  therefore,  a  politician  or  legis- 
lator. 

When  Governor  Andrew,  of  whom  he  was  a  life-long  and  sturdy  friend, 
was  Governor,  in  1861,  mainly  through  his  influence  Mr.  Ames  became  a  mem- 
ber of  what  is  commonly  called  the  Governor's  Council.  This  was  his  first 
political  office.  The  country  was  then  in  the  crisis  of  civil  war.  His  energy, 
courage,  integrity,  and  patriotism  gave  him  instant  and  permanent  promi- 
nence, and  at  the  next  election  of  members  of  Congress,  he  was  sent  by  the 
general  desire  of  the  people  to  assist  in  the  direction  of  affairs  in  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington.  But  it  was  not  until  he  was  placed  upon  the  committee 
of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  that  his  influence  and  capacity  were  fitly  recognized. 

To  satisfy  European  governments  that  the  resources  of  the  republic  were 
not  exhausted  by  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  a  series  of  national  enter- 
prises was  initiated,  of  which  the  Pacific  Railroad  was  the  most  conspicuous 
and  important.  It  represented  the  cause  of  the  Union  in  its  generic  form. 
If  East  and  West  could  not  be  held  together,  it  would  be  difficult  to  prevent 


Letter  from  General  Banks.  141 

the  separation  of  North  and  South.  The  railroad,  therefore,  represented  the 
unity  and  peace  of  the  republic. 

The  statutes  of  1862  and  1864,  providing  for  the  construction  of  the  road, 
with  all  their  munificent  and  questionable  grants,  proved  insufficient.  A  con- 
tract for  a  hundred  miles  of  road,  from  the  Missouri  River  westward,  had 
failed.  It  was  seen  at  once,  that  even  wasteful  prodigality  of  legislation  was 
insufficient  for  the  construction  of  this  great  work.  Organization,  disciplined 
energy,  and  public  confidence  were  indispensable  to  its  success,  and  President 
Lincoln,  with  many  other  friends  of  the  government,  turned  to  Mr.  Ames  as 
the  man  endowed  by  nature  for  that  heroic  task. 

Mr.  Ames  had  contributed  nothing  to  the  early  encouragement  of  this  en- 
terprise. Many  quite  unknown  men  had  first  suggested  its  necessity.  In 
1849,  only  four  years  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  I  had  the 
honor,  myself,  to  present  to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  an  earnest  and 
strong  resolution  in  favor  of  a  railway  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  afterwards  reported  it  from  the  Committee  of  Railways  and  Ca- 
nals, when  it  received  the  unanimous  approval  of  both  branches  of  the  legisla- 
ture. It  was  the  first  act  of  my  public  life,  and  among  the  earliest,  if  not  the 
first  declaration  of  Massachusetts  in  its  favor.  Mr.  Ames  did  not  own  a  share 
of  its  stock  in  1865,  when  he  was  first  pressed  to  assume  the  responsibility  of 
its  construction.  The  obstacles  it  encountered  were  numerous  and  apparently 
insurmountable.  Strong  contesting  factions  were  organized  within  the  cor- 
poration, struggling  less  for  the  success  of  the  road  than  to  control  the  gigan- 
tic endowments  and  share  the  profits  of  the  work.  In  1865,  Mr.  Ames 
brought  into  action,  as  a  construction  company  for  the  Pacific  railway,  an  in- 
consequential and  unknown  financial  corporation  of  Pennsylvania  called  the 
Credit  Mobilier.  He  brought  up  the  paid  subscription  of  this  bankrupt  con- 
cern, by  his  own  contributions  and  those  of  friends,  to  two  and  a  half  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  assumed,  at  the  request  of  the  corporation,  the  construction  of 
the  first  hundred  miles  of  the  road  which  had  failed  a  year  earlier,  and  com- 
pleted it,  October,  1866. 

His  success  terminated  for  a  time  all  internal  conflicts  of  the  corporation, 
and  he  was  deservedly  honored  in  August,  1867,  with  a  contract  for  construc- 
tion of  six  hundred  sixty-seven  miles  of  road.  No  other  man  could  thus  have 
thwarted  the  factions  that  imperiled  the  success  of  this  great  national  enter- 
prise. Modifications  of  this  then  unexampled  contract,  suggested  by  himself, 
were  readily  accepted,  and  all  material  obstacles  to  its  success  being  thus  re- 
moved, the  road  was  completed  in  1869,  seven  years  earlier  than  required  by 
his  contract.  He  gave  to  this  work  the  full  strength  of  his  indomitable  will, 


142  Letter  from  General  Banks. 

and  staked  a  colossal  fortune  of  his  own,  and  the  hard-earned  wealth  of  many 
near  and  most  devoted  friends,  upon  its  success.  When  it  became  apparent  that 
it  was  near  its  completion,  the  struggle  for  possession  and  control  of  its  mag- 
nificent franchises  was  renewed,  multiplied,  and  intensified.  Frequent  sugges- 
tions and  threats  of  adverse  and  hostile  legislation,  damaging  interpretations 
of  law  by  officers  of  the  government,  prejudicial  and  harassing  appeals  to 
courts,  followed  sometimes  by  injurious  and  unjust  judgments,  kept  its  mana- 
gers in  constant  alarm  and  insecurity,  and  finally  led  them  to  seek  protection 
from  the  assaults  of  interested  parties  by  the  sale  of  some  shares  of  Credit  Mo- 
bilier  stock  to  prominent  members  of  Congress,  hoping  thereby  to  create  an 
interest  in  favor  of  the  road  commensurate  with  its  legitimate  and  permanent 
national  importance. 

All  such  transfers  of  stock  were  made  with  an  assurance  that  no  new  legis- 
lation was  desired  by  the  company.  No  votes  for  or  against  any  measures 
relating  to  the  road  were  solicited.  Shares  were  taken  at  the  same  rates  paid 
by  others  to  whom  it  had  been  sold  and  paid  for  out  of  accruing  dividends  on 
the  stock  with  guaranty  against  loss,  and  a  stipulated  rate  of  interest.  No 
orations,  interrogations,  motions,  not  even  "  leave  to  print,"  no  organization 
or  conference  was  even  mentioned  to  anybody :  and  no  purchaser  learned 
from  the  new  master  of  the  technique  of  legislation  that  any  other  person 
than  himself  shared  the  favor  of  this  novel  financial  power,  imported  first 
from  France,  then  from  Pennsylvania,  to  build  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 
In  truth  the  profits  suggested  by  the  purchase  were  so  modest,  the  service 
called  for  so  limited,  the  obligations  assumed  so  like  mental  tissues,  without 
weight  or  strength,  insensible  to  feeling  as  to  sight,  that  the  purchasers  were 
never  quite  certain  how  they  were  held  or  what  bound  them. 

It  was  in  fact  wholly  unlike  the  cases  which  had  so  often  challenged  atten- 
tion of  Congress,  where  private  interests  had  perverted  the  calm  courses  of 
public  legislation. 

But,  nevertheless,  it  was  expected  and  intended  that  these"  informal  and 
characterless  transfers  would  create  in  the  parties  interested  vigilant  and  vig- 
orous resistance  to  the  measures  leveled  against  the  success  of  the  road.  Mr. 
Ames  never  doubted  that  a  candid  investigation  of  the  questions  at  issue 
would  ensure  its  triumph.  But  overburdened  with  cares  it  was  a  hopeless  task 
to  attract  the  attention  of  members  to  the  business  of  great  corporations, 
they  were  deaf  to  intercession  and  speeches,  and  waste  baskets  swallowed  writ- 
ten and  printed  appeals.  His  plan  was  bland  of  aspect,  but  pungent  and  pow- 
erful in  action.  • 

That  he  believed  this  arrangement  to  be   legitimate  and  honorable  can- 


Letter  from  General  Banks.  143 

not  be  doubted.  Every  one  knew  that  many  members  were  purchasers  of 
stocks  issued  under  the  authority  of  the  government.  So  confident  was  he 
in  the  integrity  of  his  purpose  and  action,  that  he  refused  to  be  advised  or 
controlled  in  his  defence.  He  stated  plainly  and  truthfully  everything  he 
had  done.  Throughout  the  investigation  he  refused  the  aid  of  counsel,  ex- 
cept for  an  hour  at  the  close  of  the  inquiry.  He  had  taken  counsel  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  in  the  country,  who  assured  him  he  had  violated  no  law,  and 
he  chose  to  state  the  truth  in  regard  to  his  action  and  it  was  upon  his  own 
statement  that  the  judgment  of  the  committee  was  formed. 

It  was  by  such  methods,  in  part,  that  the  iron  arteries  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  bound  together  those  sections  of  the  republic  that  lie  between  the 
great  oceans  of  the  earth.  At  a  period  when  many  persons  claim  credit  for 
all  the  improvements  of  the  age,  it  was  the  good  fortune  of  Mr.  Ames  to  be 
recognized  and  honored  by  his  associates  and  the  country  as  the  citizen  worthy 
the  title  of  "  Builder  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad."  His  country  shared 
largely  in  the  advantages  of  its  origin,  construction,  and  completion.  It  en- 
couraged the  friends  of  liberty  everywhere  to  hope  that  the  American  gov- 
erment  would  be  preserved.  When  traveling  over  the  steppes  of  Russia  in 
1869,  I  heard  men  speak  in  the  dead  hours  of  night  of  the  golden  spikes  that 
bound  together  the  distant  shores  of  ocean  by  this  railway  as  one  of  the  mod- 
ern wonders  of  the  world.  It  has  scarcely  begun  to  develop  its  greatest  results. 
Men  cannot  yet  anticipate  its  ultimate  influence  and  power.  We  only  know 
it  has  greatly  transcended  every  expectation  of  the  most  zealous  and  sanguine 
of  its  founders. 

Every  creed  in  religion  and  every  form  of  government  recognizes  the  possi- 
bility of  expiation  and  atonement  for  wrong ;  any  religion  or  government  based 
on  opposite  ideas  would  be  of  fiends  and  not  of  men.  Without  seeking  cover 
from  this  universal  law,  the  citizens  of  Massachusetts  can  honorably  unite  in 
the  proposal  now  made  that  the  legislature  "  express  its  gratitude  for  his  work, 
and  its  faith  in  his  integrity  of  purpose  and  character,  and  ask  for  a  like  rec- 
ognition thereof  on  the  part  of  the  national  Congress." 

As  one  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  Con- 
gress, to  consider  the  part  borne  by  Mr.  Ames  in  these  transactions,  and  con- 
curring in  its  final  judgment,  I  should  most  cheerfully  support  such  declara- 
tion, and  doubt  not  that  it  will  be  approved  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
and  the  United  States. 

Very  respectfully  your  fellow  citizen,  etc., 

N.  P.  BANKS. 

Hon.  DAVID  RANDALL,  Senator,  and  Hon.  JOHN  S.  WILLIAMS,  Representa- 
tive of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts. 


